State Crimes Against Children Division reports hotline volumes and prosecution referrals

Major Jeff Drew of the Arkansas State Police presented the Crimes Against Children Division quarterly quality report for Oct–Dec 2023. He reported the hotline received 16,127 calls during the period; 8,370 were accepted for investigation. CACD handled 1,352 cases; DCFS handled 5,296 cases assigned from the hotline.

Drew summarized prosecution referral outcomes for the quarter: 524 cases were submitted to prosecutors, 262 were filed, 202 pending and 60 declined. CACD reported a quarterly substantiation rate of about 31% and provided county breakdowns, victim age distributions and prosecuting district outcomes in the full report.

Committee members asked how the data inform prevention and whether recidivism or offender histories are being tracked to reduce repeat violent behavior. Drew said CACD is a civil investigative body that documents causes and trends and that tracking recidivism likely sits with the Department of Corrections or prosecuting officials; he suggested targeted follow‑up meetings to coordinate cross‑agency analysis.