Crawford County Arrest Records

In Crawford County, officers from the Sheriff’s Office or other law enforcement agencies are required to make arrests when they witness a crime or receive reliable information from citizens about ongoing criminal activity. They can also arrest individuals based on reasonable suspicion that they have committed or are about to commit a crime. Once an arrest is made, factors such as the severity of the crime and public safety concerns are considered to determine whether the arrestee should be granted bail or held in custody until trial.

Individuals arrested for offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment under the laws of the state are typically notified of the charge against them, booked, and transferred to the Crawford County Jail to await trial. During the booking process, the Sheriff’s Office or the relevant law enforcement agency collects details about the arrested individual, including their name, address, reason for arrest, fingerprints, and criminal history. This information is compiled into an arrest record, which forms the foundation for creating other public records, such as the Crawford County Court Records. These records are critical for keeping track of the timeline of a case from arrest to resolution.

Are Arrest Records Public in Crawford County?

According to the Public Records Act, Crawford County arrest records are open records. This means that the relevant custodians of these records must provide access to these records upon request. However, some arrest-related information is considered confidential under state laws and exempt from public disclosure. Consequently, a record will be considered confidential if its disclosure has a high tendency to reveal this information:

• The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with the offense or witness to whom confidentiality has been promised.
• Specific confidential investigatory techniques or procedures or specific investigatory work product.
• Information that would endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or a confidential information source.

If a public officer denies a request to release a restricted portion of a record, requesters may file a complaint with the clerk of courts requesting the court to order the release of all or portions of the record.

Crawford County Arrest Statistics

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Data for 2018, the Sheriff’s Office or County Police Department reported three violent crimes, including 0 cases of murder, 1 case of rape, 0 cases of robbery, and 2 cases of aggravated assault. Additionally, 102 property crimes were reported, consisting of 36 burglaries, 59 cases of larceny, seven motor vehicle thefts, and no cases of arson.

Find Crawford County Arrest Records

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office website is a convenient way to locate individuals who are currently serving time in the Crawford County Jail. To see who is in jail through the platform, requesters can follow these steps:

• Visit the website and click on “inmate” at the top of the page.
• On the inmate page, click the “inmate search” button at the center of the page.
• On the follow-up page, enter the desired inmate’s last and first name in the appropriate fields.
• Click on “Go” to query the database.

Search results will provide information about the inmate, including their booking date, charges, and custody status.

The state’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation website also provides information on inmates incarcerated in state prisons. To pull up state and local prison records, follow these steps:

• Visit the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation website and navigate to the “Look up state and local prison records” header.
• Under the header, click on “State’s Department of Corrections”.
• On the state departments of corrections page, click the drop-down button and select the relevant state.
• Proceed to “offender search” and click “search for an individual”.
• On the offender search page, search for an inmate using their first name, last name, status, or prison number.

At the Federal level, the Bureau of Prisons Inmates Locator tool allows members of the public to find records of inmates incarcerated in the federal prison system from 1982 to the present. Individuals can access inmates' records through this medium by providing information that sufficiently identifies the specific case, including the first and last names of the inmates and other relevant information required. Records before 1982 are searchable on the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) website.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

An arrest will remain on a person’s record indefinitely unless sealed or expunged. Sealing is a legal remedy that effectively removes the record from public view. The record is not destroyed, but third-party access to the record is restricted. A law enforcement officer who seeks the record in good faith will be entitled to review the record, or the record can be pulled up and used against the offender when they commit another crime. In contrast, an expungement completely destroys the record, effectively making the arrest seem like it never occurred.

In Crawford County, the law permits only sealing of records. Consequently, some offenses are sealable, while others are not. Misdemeanors are generally sealable. However, an offender must wait at least 1 year from conviction for sealing misdemeanors. For felonies, the period may take up to 10 years from the time the offense became eligible for sealing.

The following offenses cannot be sealed or expunged:

• Any first- or second-degree felony or more than two third-degree felonies.
• Violations of driver’s license laws, including suspension, cancellation, or revocation; traffic offenses (such as OVI and moving violations); motor vehicle crimes; commercial driver’s license regulations; and similar municipal ordinances.
• Felony violent offenses that are not classified as sexually oriented.
• Convictions for sexually oriented offenses while still subject to sex offender registration requirements.
• Convictions involving victims under 13 years old, excluding non-support of dependents.
• Convictions for domestic violence or violation of protection orders (VPO).

Crawford County Arrest Warrants

An arrest warrant is a written order issued by a magistrate, directing law enforcement to take a person suspected of committing a crime into custody for questioning and investigation. Arrest warrants are typically issued in order to detain suspects of offenses that occurred outside the observation of law enforcement when subsequent investigation indicates a serious probability that the suspect committed the crime.

For an arrest warrant to be issued, a law enforcement agency must file a complaint along with an affidavit stating that an offense has been committed and identifying a particular individual as prime suspect. If the presiding judge, magistrate, or clerk of court is convinced that there is probable cause to believe that the individual committed the offense, she will issue an arrest warrant authorizing law enforcement to make the arrest.

An arrest warrant document typically contains the following information:

• The name of the person whose arrest is ordered; if unknown, a reasonably definite description.
• The alleged offense.
• The magistrate’s signature.

Once an arrest warrant is issued, law enforcement can arrest the suspect anywhere within state borders. However, the suspect must be brought before the magistrate who issued the order without unnecessary delay or before another court for convenience.

Do Crawford County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Arrest warrants typically remain active until the person named in the warrant has been arrested or the warrant is quashed by the courts. An arrest warrant will be considered invalid and quashed if:

• The defendant can prove there are specific parts of the affidavit that have been submitted by the police to the court that are false.
• That the police knowingly made these false statements or made them recklessly without regard as to whether they were true or false
• After the false statements have been removed, the remaining parts of the affidavit do not establish a probable cause for the defendant to be arrested.

The reason for the indefinite period is that if arrest warrants carry expiry dates, the suspect may choose to lay low until its validity period has passed.