Ark. Code Ann. § 5-54-101 (2026)
Definitions
As used in this subchapter:
- “Arkansas State Hospital” includes any subdivision or facility of the Arkansas State Hospital and any other hospital established by law or legally designated for similar purposes;
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- “Correctional facility” means any place used for the confinement of persons charged with or convicted of an offense or otherwise confined under a court order.
- “Correctional facility” does not include youth services programs and applies to the Arkansas State Hospital only as to persons detained there charged with or convicted of an offense;
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- “Custody” means actual or constructive restraint by a law enforcement officer pursuant to an arrest or a court order.
- “Custody” does not include detention in a correctional facility, youth services program, or the Arkansas State Hospital;
- “Deadly physical force” means physical force that under the circumstances in which it is used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury;
- “Escape” means the unauthorized departure of a person from custody or a correctional facility;
- “Governmental function” means any activity that a public servant is legally authorized to undertake on behalf of any governmental unit he or she serves;
- “Implement for escape” means any weapon, tool, or other thing that may be useful for escape;
- “Implement for unauthorized departure” means any weapon, tool, or other thing that may be useful for unauthorized departure;
- “Juvenile detention facility” means any facility for the temporary care of juveniles alleged to be delinquent, or adjudicated delinquent and awaiting disposition, who require secure custody in a physically restricting facility designed and operated with all entrances and exits under the exclusive control of the facility's staff, so that a juvenile may not leave the facility unsupervised or without permission;
- “Physical force” means any bodily impact, restraint, or confinement or the threat of bodily impact, restraint, or confinement;
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“Prohibited article” means:
- An intoxicating beverage other than sacramental wine labeled as sacramental wine and supplied by a religious official who supplies the sacramental wine to an inmate in the Division of Correction or Division of Community Correction for the sole purpose of an approved religious service, pursuant to rules promulgated by the Board of Corrections;
- A controlled substance, as defined by §§ 5-64-101 et seq. — 5-64-601 et seq., not prescribed by a physician for the benefit of the person to whom it is delivered;
- A weapon, including a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, adapted, or capable of being adapted to inflict physical injury, and anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing physical injury; or
- Anything furnished an inmate in a correctional facility, the Arkansas State Hospital, or juvenile training school without authorization of a person charged with the duty of maintaining the safety or security of the institution or any person confined in the institution;
- “Public record” includes all official books, papers, exhibits, or records of any type required by law to be created by or received and retained in any governmental office or agency, affording notice or information to the public or constituting a memorial of an act or transaction of a public office or public servant; and
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- “Youth services program” means a residential program operated by the Division of Youth Services of the Department of Human Services or its contractor for the purpose of detaining, housing, and treating persons committed to the division.
- A person committed to the division and placed in a youth services program is in the custody of the youth services program while attending or participating in any activity conducted or arranged by the youth services program, regardless of the physical location of the activity.
History. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 2801; 1977, No. 360, § 13; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2801; Acts 1988 (4th Ex. Sess.), No. 8, § 1; 1988 (4th Ex. Sess.), No. 23, § 1; 1997, No. 1229, §§ 1, 2; 1997, No. 1299, §§ 1, 2; 2005, No. 1994, § 253; 2019, No. 315, § 150; 2019, No. 910, § 675.
Amendments. The 2005 amendment substituted “youth services program” for “juvenile training school” in (1) and (2); inserted “or she” in (4); and rewrote (13).
The 2019 amendment by No. 315 deleted “and regulations” following “rules” in (11)(A).
The 2019 by No. 910 amendment substituted “Division of Correction” for “Department of Correction” and “Division of Community Correction” for “Department of Community Correction” in (11)(A).
Case Notes
Correctional Facility.
A holding cell which was located in a county courthouse and was used as a temporary facility to hold prisoners before and after their appearances in court constituted a correctional facility. Glover v. State, 8 Ark. App. 104, 648 S.W.2d 824 (1983).
Escape.
Where the defendant forged a court order which declared his convictions void, there was sufficient evidence to sustain a guilty verdict for second degree escape, and the Attorney General's statement that the order was valid did not legitimize the fraudulent order. Wade v. State, 290 Ark. 16, 716 S.W.2d 194 (1986).
Governmental Function.
Vehicle passenger, who was allegedly arrested by a state police officer for refusing to provide identification, stated a claim against the officer for a Fourth Amendment violation. There was no probable cause to arrest the passenger under § 5-54-102(a)(1) for obstructing the performance of a governmental function; the officer's authority under Ark. R. Crim. P. 2.2 to request information did not establish a “governmental function” within the meaning of subdivision (6) of this section because there was no showing that the passenger had a duty under Arkansas law to furnish identification. Stufflebeam v. Harris, 521 F.3d 884 (8th Cir. 2008).
Public Record.
A defendant's handwritten documentation fit squarely into the subdivision (11) [former] definition of a public record, as a matter of law. Williams v. State, 346 Ark. 304, 57 S.W.3d 706 (2001).
Cited: France v. State, 262 Ark. 193, 555 S.W.2d 225 (1977); Bush v. State, 338 Ark. 772, 2 S.W.3d 761 (1999); Kelley v. State, 75 Ark. App. 144, 55 S.W.3d 309 (2001); Williams v. State, 347 Ark. 728, 67 S.W.3d 548 (2002).