Arkansas developed a reputation as a rough place early in its history. Though sparsely populated, criminal activity was common and law enforcement limited. State and local government struggled to create a safe environment for its citizens. Conditions, however, improved dramatically from the 19th through the 20th century, especially in the later decades. The Old State House Museum's exhibit, Badges, Bandits & Bars: Arkansas Law & Justice, explores the state's history of crime and punishment from pre-territorial days to the mid-1980s.
The exhibit divides itself into four distinct narratives: The Criminal Element, which chronicles the story of Arkansas badmen; Upholding the Law, which tells the story of Arkansas law enforcement; The Scales of Justice, which narrates the colorful history of Arkansas's courts; and Behind Bars, dealing with Arkansas's seemingly endless quest to reform its prison system.
Artifacts and photographs from collections recently donated by the Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas Department of Corrections are part of the exhibit, as well as objects loaned by other institutions and individuals, and many from the Old State House Museum's own collection.
Bobby Roberts, guest curator of the prisons component of the exhibit, is director of the Central Arkansas Library System and served on the Arkansas Board of Corrections from 1986 to 1993.
Brian K. Robertson, co-curator of the crime and law enforcement sections of the exhibit, is Head Archivist for the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
Tony Perrin, co-curator of the crime and law enforcement sections, is the Region II Supervisor for Arkansas State Parks, a former law enforcement official, and a national authority on crime and law enforcement history.
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