Incarceration serves to remove offenders from a community, but also creates hardships on families, including the loss of an income or a caregiver, in addition to long-term effects on mental health for all involved. After incarceration, people often encounter challenges in obtaining meaningful employment, leading to reductions in long-term productivity, recidivism and widespread effects on a community's social, health and educational systems.

In 2015 (the latest year for which national and state comparative data is available), the incarceration rate was 132 per 10,000, up 26% since 2006. This makes Arkansas 43rd in the nation on this indicator. In addition, nationally, incarceration of people in county jails and state prisons was lower (96 per 10,000) and falling (-6% since 2006). Arkansas' rates were much higher for blacks/African Americans - 276% of the white rate - while the rate for Latinos was about half the white rate. Males were jailed at a rate 5 times above that for females.

Among Arkansas counties, data from 2017 indicates that incarceration rates varied widely - below 10 per 10,000 in Scott, Marion, Hot Springs, Newton and Cleveland - and above 100 per 10,000 in Dallas and Bowie.

Disparities in incarceration are the result of racialized stereotypes, policies and practices and community conditions. Stereotypes that portray Black and Latino people, especially males, as inherently dangerous, criminal, and violent lay the foundation for police surveillance and disparate and harsher treatment by the criminal justice system. Communities of color are more likely to be under surveillance and policies such as stop and frisk perpetuate increased police contact. Punitive drug laws have had disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities. Even though Blacks and whites have similar rates of drug use, Black people are more likely to be arrested and experience harsher sentences. In general, whites experience less harsh sentences when convicted of similar crimes as Black and Latinos. Given economic disparities, people of color are less likely to experience pre-trial release after arrest. The concentration of Black and Latino communities in highly segregated communities with limited economic opportunities and ineffective schools may also foster crime involvement.

Rates are for people in local jails at the county level and in prisons and county jails at the state level. Rates for subgroups at the state level only include the county jail population, not state prisons.