Arkansas Criminal Detention Facility Standards: Lice and Pests at Intake, No Facility Pest Control Rule

Citation

Code of Arkansas Rules, Title 12, Part 50 (Minimum Standards for Adult Criminal Detention Facilities), issued by the Office of Criminal Detention Facilities Review Coordinator. Every section lists its authority as Ark. Code § 12-26-103. All 127 sections of Part 50 were downloaded from the official Code of Arkansas Rules and searched on September 26, 2026. The Code “became effective on January 1, 2025” as the official version of Arkansas rules.

What It Says (Verbatim)

§50-506(a), search at intake:

“(a) At the time a detainee is being searched, he or she should be checked for lice or other pests, cuts, bruises, needle marks, or any other bodily injuries, and all findings shall be entered in the detainee’s personal record.”

§50-506(d), delousing:

“(d) A lice-infested detainee shall be deloused by methods which have been recommended by the Department of Health.”

§50-1107(b), outside food exceptions:

“(b) Only the chief executive may make an exception to this section and, in doing so, shall exercise rigid controls to ensure that the facility remains secure and does not become infested, unsanitary, or otherwise unsafe.”

§50-1103(a), food service:

“(a) Food service operations, whether contractual or on-site, shall conform to the Department of Health rules pertaining to food service establishments.”

What It Means in Plain Language

1. Pests enter the standards at the booking desk. Detainees are checked for lice or other pests and the findings go in the personal record.
2. Delousing follows the Department of Health. Infested detainees are deloused by its recommended methods.
3. No facility pest control rule. A search of every Part 50 section for vermin, pest, insect, rodent, extermination, infestation and lice found only the intake and outside-food provisions quoted here.
4. Kitchens follow the health department’s food establishment rules (§50-1103(a)).

Who It Applies To

Criminal detention facilities operated by political subdivisions for adult offenders, which §50-101 defines to include regional, county and municipal jails and temporary holding units. The Office’s rulemaking authority is Ark. Code § 12-26-103(b), quoted above.

Ark. Code § 12-26-103(b), as amended by Acts 2025, No. 953:

“(b) The office shall be responsible for promulgating, upon approval of the secretary, minimum standards for the construction, maintenance, and operation of local, county, regional, or state criminal detention facilities and juvenile detention facilities in accordance with the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.”

Documentation Evidence

• Intake records showing the lice and pest check
• Delousing records and the Department of Health method used
• Food service inspection reports
• The facility’s own pest control contract and service records, which the standards do not require but a grievance will ask for

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence, including for the documented negative. All 127 sections of 12 CAR Part 50 were downloaded from the official Code of Arkansas Rules and searched; the 2014 standards (Arkansas Register, December 2014) and the 2022 revision were also searched. The 2022 revision changed “vermin” to “lice or other pests” and made delousing mandatory.