Editing Yell County, Arkansas (section)

===Public safety===
{{See also|Sheriffs in the United States#Arkansas}}
The [[Yell County Sheriff's Office]] is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The agency is led by the Yell County Sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every four years. Police departments in Dardanelle, Danville, and Ola provide law enforcement in their respective jurisdictions, with Bellville, Havana, and Plainview contracting with the Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services.

The current sheriff of Yell County is Nick Gault. Gault was elected to office in the 2022 General Election.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ingram |first=Sean |title=Gault to become next Yell County sheriff |url=https://www.couriernews.com/news/gault-to-become-next-yell-county-sheriff/article_3be81314-6278-55e7-aee6-bb7127e2b4a2.html |access-date=January 1, 2023 |website=The Courier |language=en}}</ref>

The chief officer of the law in Yell County, as in all Arkansas counties, is the [[Sheriffs in the United States#Arkansas|sheriff]].
{{Hidden begin|titlestyle=background:#ccccff;|title=Yell County Sheriffs, 1840-Present}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Yell County Sheriffs<ref>Yell County Court House Records</ref>
!Name
!Year Elected
!Year Left
!Total Years
!Notable Accomplishments
|-
|Theodore P Sadler
|1840
|1846
|6
|
* First county sheriff
|-
|S. Kirkpatrick
|1846
|1852
|6
|
|-
|Joseph Garrett
|1852
|1854
|2
|
|-
|J. C. Herin
|1854
|1856
|2
|
|-
|Joseph Gault
|1856
|1862
|6
|
|-
|Lorenzo Free
|1862
|1863
|1
|
|-
|O. Wood
|1863
|1864
|1
|
|-
|William Henry Ferguson
|1864
|1871
|7
|
|-
|Jesse George
|1871
|1872
|1
|
|-
|J. A. Wilson
|1872
|1874
|2
|
|-
|Reuben E. Cole
|1874
|1880
|6
|
|-
|Levi L. Briggs
|1880
|1882
|2
|
|-
|Joseph L. Davis
|1882
|1886
|4
|
|-
|H. B. McCarrell
|1886
|1890
|4
|
|-
|Joseph Haston Howard
|1890
|1892
|2
|
|-
|Sam Gordon Albright
|1892
|1896
|4
|
|-
|B. H. Burnett
|1896
|1900
|6
|
|-
|James M. Cole
|1900
|1904
|4
|
|-
|William Franklin Briggs
|1904
|1906
|2
|
|-
|William L. Tatum
|1906
|1910
|4
|
|-
|Theodore Riley Gault
|1910
|1914
|4
|
|-
|Will T. Caviness
|1914
|1919
|5
|
|-
|J. N. George
|1919
|1923
|4
|
|-
|Joe D. Gault
|1923
|1926
|3
|
|-
|Baxter Gatlin
|1927
|1930
|3
|
|-
|Buford Compton
|1931
|1946
|15
|
|-
|Earl E Lad
|1947
|1956
|9
|
|-
|Herman D. McCormick
|1957
|1968
|11
|
|-
|Carlos Mitchell
|1969
|1976
|7
|
* Construction of the old Danville Jail (Replaced in 2016)
* Construction of the old Dardanelle Jail (Replaced in 2016)
|-
|Hartsell Lewis
|1977
|1978
|1
|
|-
|Denver Dennis
|1979
|1988
|9
|
|-
|Mike May
|1989
|1992
|3
|
|-
|Loyd W. Maughn
|1993
|1998
|5
|
* Construction of Juvenile Detention Center (1997)
|-
|Bill Gilkey
|1999
|March 31, 2022
|23 Years 3 Months
|
* Construction of New Law Enforcement Center and Jail (2016)
* Longest serving sheriff in Yell Count (2017)
* Longest current serving sheriff in the state of Arkansas (2017)
In 2017, he became the longest currently-serving sheriff in Arkansas, after 19 years in the office. He is also the longest-serving sheriff in the county's history. Gilkey has sat on state boards such as the Arkansas Crime Lab Board and Arkansas Act 309 Board.

Gilkey is credited with the creation of the Yell County Law Enforcement Center in 2016, which replaces two of the county's older jails that did not meet state standards, and houses the sheriff's office. The new building also houses CID offices, revenue office, and an updated E911 dispatch center.

|-
|Heath Tate
|April 1, 2022
|December 2022
|9 Months
|
* Interim Sheriff after Gilkey's retirement in March 2022.

|-
|Nick Gault
|2023
|Present
|
|}
{{Hidden end}}