Locate McPherson Unit Prisoners

McPherson Unit Overview

McPherson Unit is operated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Division of Correction. DOC places it four miles northeast of Newport, off Highway 384, at 302 Corrections Drive. It is a state prison, not the Jackson County Jail and Detention Center. The facility holds sentenced female state prisoners and includes Female Central Intake, which is the intake and diagnostic function for women entering Arkansas DOC custody.

The DOC facility page lists McPherson as established in 1998 and ACA Accredited. Its role is different from the county jail's booking role. A person arrested in Jackson County may first be booked into the local jail, appear in court, and later move to state custody if sentenced to prison. Once the person enters DOC custody, the Arkansas DOC profile and unit assignment are the public search tools that matter most.

McPherson Unit Population

McPherson's capacity figures differ by source and date. The DOC facility page lists capacity of 1,050. The 2024 ACA audit lists rated capacity of 964, actual population of 1,052, and a 12-month average daily population of 1,048. Those audit numbers are strong facility-page figures because they are tied to a specific review period. They are not a live inmate count for a current day.

McPherson's population is part of the Arkansas prison system. It should not be counted as the Jackson County local jail population, even though the facility is physically in Jackson County. That distinction is important for searches, phone calls, and records requests. The sheriff can help with the local jail stage, while DOC handles McPherson custody and prisoner records.

Look Up McPherson Prisoners

Use the Arkansas DOC inmate search for sentenced women or intake population assigned to McPherson. A Jackson County jail roster does not cover state prison custody after transfer. The DOC search can be narrowed with ADC number, county, name, facility, gender, offense category, age, and race. The facility filter is useful when McPherson is already known.

1. Open the Arkansas DOC inmate search and accept the required disclaimer.
2. Search by ADC number when available, or use last name and first name.
3. Select McPherson Unit in the facility field when assignment is known.
4. Check the public profile for current facility, mailing address, sentence history, custody classification, detainers, and status.

If the woman was just arrested in Jackson County and has not been sentenced or transferred, begin with the local jail phone and VINE instead. The Jackson County inmate population overview explains why county jail custody and state prison custody use different systems in Newport.

McPherson Unit Contact

DOC's unit contact is the better route for McPherson-specific questions about approval, intake status, visits, unit mailing format, phone lists, and deposits. DOC directions from Little Rock route travelers north on Highway 67, right at Exit 83 onto Highway 384, then about 2.5 miles before turning left on 384S / 302 Corrections Drive. DOC notes McPherson is on the right.

McPherson Unit Visiting

McPherson visitation follows Arkansas DOC rules. DOC online services state that standard video visitation is through Securus, requires the visitor to be on the inmate's approved phone and visitor record, and must be scheduled at least 48 hours before the start time. Video visits are monitored, last 30 minutes under the statewide standard, and were listed at $5 per 30-minute session as of January 2025. Recording or photographing a visit is prohibited and can suspend privileges.

Note: A scheduled video visit does not prove in-person eligibility or current unit movement, so confirm approval and status with DOC.

McPherson Mail and Money

The DOC online services page is the statewide source for deposits, phone accounts, eMessaging, packages, tablets, and video visitation. Inmate deposits can be made to a Trust Account or Pre-Pay Phone Service Account through official DOC channels. DOC lists online, phone, and some walk-in retail options, plus minimum amounts, card limits, daily limits, and processing time. Paper money-order rules changed in 2025, so the current DOC page should be checked before anyone mails funds.

Non-attorney calls are recorded. Three-way calling and call forwarding are prohibited. Immediate family members with felony histories and people on community supervision may have additional approval rules, including warden or supervising-officer review.

McPherson Intake Process

McPherson includes Female Central Intake, so admission can involve reception, diagnostic review, classification, and unit assignment after DOC commitment. This is not the same as county jail booking after arrest. Local booking creates a jail custody record and may lead to court charges. DOC intake creates a state prisoner record with an ADC number, facility assignment, classification, sentence history, detainers, discipline fields, risk score, court orders, program achievements, and supervision history when available.

Classification is a prison management process. It helps DOC decide housing, custody level, programs, treatment, work assignments, and security controls. When a profile shows McPherson as the current facility, the contact route is DOC, even if the conviction or arrest began in Jackson County.

About McPherson Unit

DOC program listings for McPherson are extensive. They include Female Central Intake, education, dyslexia intervention, Jet Program, Literacy I/II/III, GED and Ready Testing, special education, iCEV industry credentials, ServSafe Food Handler, computer applications, computer science, coding, cybersecurity, cosmetology, cosmetology instructor, office basics, keyboarding, AA/NA, agriculture vegetable processing and gardening, Dance 2B Free, Arkansas State University, hobby craft, library and law library, life skills, mental health groups, MIWATCH, parenting, recreation, Residential Program Unit, Sex Offender Female Treatment Program, Story Book Project, Substance Abuse Therapeutic Community, Substance Abuse Treatment, Think Legacy, and APAL.

McPherson opened in January 1998. A 2003 DOJ CRIPA findings letter covered McPherson and Grimes, and a 2004 agreement resolved issues identified by DOJ. More recent McPherson litigation should be described with exact date labels. On December 3, 2025, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in Arnett v. Norris involving failure-to-protect and supervision allegations. Arkansas legislative material reported a settlement, with ADC defendants denying wrongful conduct except as separately described for Kenneth DeWitt. KUAR reported on April 14, 2026 that harassment-suit settlements including the McPherson case were approved by the Claims Review Committee.

For records access, separate the prison profile from the court file. The DOC profile can show McPherson assignment, ADC number, classification, sentence history, detainers, and program data. Search ARCourts and the Jackson County Circuit Clerk are better sources for charges, hearings, filings, and dispositions. VINE can provide custody and notification support, but it is not the source record for every prison or court detail.

The capacity figures should also be read by source. The DOC facility page lists unit capacity of 1,050, while the 2024 ACA audit lists rated capacity of 964, actual population of 1,052, and a 12-month average daily population of 1,048. Those numbers describe a state prison and intake facility, not a county jail. They belong on the McPherson page because the prison is in Jackson County, but they should not be used as the Jackson County Jail count.

McPherson's Female Central Intake role can make search timing confusing. A woman may appear in DOC custody during intake, move to another unit after classification, or remain assigned to McPherson. The facility field in the DOC locator and the mailing address on the public profile should be checked before sending mail, scheduling a visit, or using deposit services.