Arkansas No Chase Law
Agency discretion
Does Arkansas have a no-chase law? No — Arkansas has no statewide law restricting police pursuits. Each department sets its own chase policy.
What governs pursuits in Arkansas
Arkansas has no statewide statute restricting when police may initiate a pursuit; pursuit policy is set agency-by-agency (e.g., Arkansas State Police, Fayetteville PD, Pine Bluff PD each publish their own vehicular-pursuit policy). Instead of restricting pursuits, recent Arkansas law changes (2023 and 2025) increased criminal penalties for fleeing, making fleeing over the speed limit a Class D felony and fleeing with extreme indifference to human life a Class C felony; Arkansas State Police have publicly emphasized an aggressive, force-if-necessary approach to stopping fleeing drivers rather than a restrictive no-chase policy.
Will police chase a motorcycle in Arkansas?
No statewide Arkansas law addresses motorcycle pursuits specifically; individual department pursuit policies (which set speed/risk-based termination criteria) apply equally to motorcycles, and officers retain discretion to break off a chase they judge unsafe.
No US state has a literal law forbidding officers from chasing motorcycles. What riders call a "no-chase law" is nearly always a department policy that tells officers to break off a pursuit when the danger to the public outweighs the arrest — and fleeing remains a crime in Arkansas regardless. See the state-by-state motorcycle guide for how this works everywhere.
Recent changes
2023 and 2025: Arkansas increased felony penalties for fleeing law enforcement in a vehicle (not a pursuit restriction, but a deterrent/enforcement change); ASP announced a 2026 messaging/enforcement crackdown on fleeing suspects.
Sources
- camdenarknews.com/news/2026/feb/20/reduction-in-arkansas-state-police-pursuits-i
- arkansasadvocate.com/briefs/arkansas-state-police-prosecuting-attorneys-announce
- legalclarity.org/arkansas-state-police-pursuit-policy-rules-and-legal-implicatio
Verified as of August 2026. Department policies can change without notice — check the agency's published policy for current break-off criteria.