Montgomery County Arrest Records

In Montgomery County, Ohio, arrests happen when law enforcement officers detain an individual based on probable cause to believe they committed a crime, will commit a crime, or abet a crime. Arrests usually result in the temporary limitation of a person’s freedom of movement until their culpability is determined in court. Arrests are typically done by officers of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, as well as state and federal agencies authorized to make arrests in Ohio.

Following an arrest, the arresting agency creates a record of the event during a procedure called booking. At this stage, the suspect’s fingerprints, photo, biodata, and physical description are collected as part of an arrest record. In addition, arrest records also contain details about the circumstances surrounding the arrest as well as the charges, bail, and bond conditions.

Arrest records merely state that a person was taken into custody on suspicion of a crime. These records are not evidence of culpability or criminal liability. For more information, interested persons must lookup records created by other criminal justice agencies, like the judiciary and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). Criminal records from the BCI offer a broader picture of an individual’s involvement with the criminal justice system. Montgomery County court records contain information about case outcomes following arrests.

Are Arrest Records Public in Montgomery County?

Yes. Montgomery County arrest records are public information according to the Ohio Public Records Law. This law directs custodians of records created by government agencies to make them available to the public. The custodian of Montgomery County arrest records is the Sheriff’s Office; requests for arrest information and related documents go to this agency.

Although access to public records is a statutory right, this right is not absolute. The Public Records Law restricts the disclosure of records containing sensitive information, such as information about minors. For example, juvenile arrest records are not public. Similarly, the same rule applies to sealed arrest records, records on victims, unexecuted arrest warrants, and records whose disclosure may compromise active criminal investigations or the safety of witnesses or law enforcement personnel.

Only authorized persons may access the aforementioned records. Usually, these include government employees whose public duties necessitate access to the record. Likewise, the record subject and their legal representatives may have access, depending on the sensitivity of the record content. For example, arrest warrant information is only available to the warrant subject and their attorneys following identity verification. Third parties who seek to view or obtain restricted arrest records must submit a court order or subpoena issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Generally, persons who obtain Montgomery County arrest records can expect to find the following information:

• The arrestee’s full name and aliases
• Physical characteristics (sex, height, weight, race, eye color, hair color, etc)
• Date of birth
• Booking photo
• Custody status
• Booking location
• Time and date of booking
• Booking number
• Arrest summary (date, agency, location, and officer)
• Charges description (offense, degree, and status)
• Bail amount
• Disposition
• Bail date and conditions of release.

Besides the aforementioned information, arrest records may also contain information about scheduled court appearances, presiding judge, case number, and inmate visitation.

Montgomery County Crime Rate

According to information on the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System, Montgomery County police departments and the Sheriff’s Office reported 16,226 crimes in 2022, including 2,572 violent crimes and 13,654 property crimes. Aggravated assault (1,675; 65.12%) made up the highest proportion of violent crimes, followed by rape (446; 17.34%), robbery (400; 15.55%), and murder (51; 1.98%). Larceny-theft (8,673; 63.52%) made up the highest proportion of property crimes, followed by motor vehicle theft (2,632; 19.27%), and burglary (2,349; 17.2%)

In 2021, Montgomery County law enforcement reported 13,863 crimes, including 2,416 violent crimes and 11,447 property crimes. Between 2021 and 2022, total crime in Montgomery County increased by 17%. Violent crime increased by 6.5% and property crime increased by 19.3%. Among violent crimes, the largest increase in crime rate was in rape (+20.5%), followed by murder (+16%), robbery (+5.8%), and aggravated assault (+3.14%). Similarly, among property crime, the highest increase in crime rate was in motor vehicle theft (+58%), larceny-theft (+13.4%), and burglary (+10.2%).

Montgomery County Arrest Statistics

Arrest statistics from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office are unavailable. However, booking numbers from the Montgomery County Jail are available and may be used as a proxy for the agency’s arrest rate. Estimates from the 2023 sheriff report showed that a total of 17,541 persons were booked into the county jail, including 7,743 felony offenders and 9,798 misdemeanor offenders. Stay per felony offense was 19.4 days compared with 6.4 days per misdemeanor. Meanwhile, the 2021 sheriff report showed 17,678 persons were booked into the county jail. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of persons booked in the Montgomery County jail decreased by 0.8%.

Find Montgomery County Arrest Records

Interested persons may obtain Montgomery County arrest records by contacting the arresting agency. Usually, these agencies maintain online databases where interested persons may perform name-based searches for a person’s arrest record. For instance, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (DORC) Offender Search is useful for finding arrest information on felony offenders. Information on persons arrested by federal law enforcement agencies is available on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Free Arrest Record Search in Montgomery County

Free arrest records are available to interested persons from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. To obtain an arrest record, search the online jail log using the arrestee’s name. Alternatively, visit the Sheriff’s Office during business hours or send a letter describing the documents sought with the arrestee’s name. Additional details like the approximate arrest date and location may also help expedite the search.

Note that while viewing arrest records at the Sheriff’s Office is usually free, there are fees attached to obtaining copies of said records. Furthermore, the Sheriff’s Office may charge administrative fees if retrieving an archived arrest record takes longer than average or if the requested record is more than two pages.

Contact the Sheriff’s Office using the information below.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
345 West Second Street
Dayton, OH 45422
Phone: (937) 225-4357
Fax: (937) 496-7975

Records from the Sheriff’s Office are limited to incidents or arrests that happened in the county. Arrest records from other counties are not usually available unless there is an information-sharing agreement between the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the law enforcement agencies.

To overcome this geographic limitation, consider searching databases maintained by third-party service providers. These providers aggregate arrest records from multiple sources across several jurisdictions. However, despite their convenience, third-party record providers are not affiliated with the Ohio state government. Hence, there is no guarantee of record accuracy, completeness, or availability.

Get Montgomery County Criminal Records

A criminal record is documentation of all instances where a person was involved with the Ohio criminal justice system, including arrests, prosecutions, and convictions. Montgomery County criminal records are only available to the record subjects and their legal representatives upon identity verification.

Individual criminal history information is available through the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) background check. This service is fingerprint-based, i.e., the requestor must submit a fingerprint card. In addition, the requestor must complete and submit an application form and signed consent form (if requesting on another person’s behalf) at a WebCheck location. The service costs $22.00 per person—this fee is payable by credit card, business check, or money order made payable to the “Treasurer of State of Ohio”.

For more information on obtaining criminal history information, contact the BCI using the information below.

Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation
1560 State Route 56 SouthWest
P.O. Box 365
London, OH 43140
Phone: (855) 224-6446

Montgomery County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Arrest records and criminal records are often mistaken for the other but both records are different. Criminal records are comprehensive descriptions of all arrests, prosecutions, and convictions. On the other hand, the information in arrest records is limited to instances when law enforcement took an individual into custody.

Furthermore, arrest records only indicate that an individual was taken into custody. These records seldom contain information about the case outcome. On the other hand, criminal records contain information about the case outcome as decided in court. Thus, arrest records may be considered a subset of criminal records. Also, criminal records are more reliable sources of information when seeking evidence of culpability.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrests in Montgomery County stay on record indefinitely unless the arrestee files for sealing or expungement under Section 2953.31 of the Ohio Revised Code. When applying for sealing or expungement, the petitioner must consider two main factors: the offense class and the time since the offense was discharged. Generally, there is a six to 12-month waiting period between discharge and when a person may file for expunction. Arrests are typically eligible for sealing or expungement if they fall into one or more of the categories below.

• The charge was dismissed after the arrest
• The district attorney’s office posted a Nolle prosequi
• The individual was released after arrest without being charged
• The arrest or warrant was dismissed in court as part of a pretrial diversion program
• The arrest or charge was due to mistaken identity
• The person was acquitted after trial.

Sealing an arrest removes it from the criminal history information that comes up during a background check. However, authorized agents of the criminal justice system, certain employers, and professional licensing boards may still see the arrest. On the other hand, expungement deletes the arrest from record, effectively meaning the arrest never happened.

Expunge Montgomery County Arrest Records

To file an expungement of record petition, visit the Clerk’s Office at the Court of Common Pleas. The court must be located in the county where the arrest happened. The clerk’s office will provide the necessary court forms as well as general filing instructions. The petitioner must also complete and attach a notice of expungement with the petition.

Upon filing the petition, the court may issue summary judgment or hold a hearing to determine the case. When deciding whether to approve an expungement petition, the court typically considers whether the applicant’s interests outweigh legitimate public needs to retain the record (Opinion 2015-023). If successful, the court will issue a notice of expungement to all criminal justice agencies

Petitioners may contract the services of a criminal law attorney before filing a petition for expungement but it is possible to complete the process without professional legal aid. Free legal aid on sealing criminal records is available through the Ohio Legal Help Center. For more information, contact the Clerk’s Office.

Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
Clerk’s Office
41 North Perry Street
Room 106
Dayton, OH 45422-2000
Phone: (937) 496-7623, (937) 496-7627
Email: clerk@mcohio.org.

Montgomery County Arrest Warrants

Ohio criminal code defines an arrest warrant as a written order issued by a judge or magistrate authorizing law enforcement to detain an individual based on probable cause to believe they are involved in a crime (Section 2933.08). To obtain an arrest warrant, law enforcement must establish probable cause—usually by submitting an affidavit of complaint or witness testimony. Generally, Montgomery County arrest warrants contain the following information:

• Subject’s name
• Offense and charges
• City or county of warrant issue
• Issuing judge or magistrate’s name
• Copy of the affidavit of complaint.

Montgomery County Arrest Warrant Search

Access to Montgomery County arrest warrants is limited to the warrant subject and their legal representatives upon identity verification. The Sheriff’s Office does not provide warrant information over the phone. Hence, these individuals may search arrest warrants by visiting the Sheriff’s Office in person during business hours. Note, however, that visiting the Sheriff’s Office when the arrest warrant is still active carries the risk of arrest.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
345 W. Second Street
Dayton, OH 45422
Phone: (937) 225-4357
Fax: (937) 496-7975

Another way to find arrest warrants is by looking through the FBI wanted list for the Cleveland field office. Persons whose names appear on this list are usually subjects of arrest warrants. Similarly, the US Marshals Service's most wanted list contains descriptions of persons who are subjects of arrest warrants.

Do Montgomery County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Montgomery County arrest warrants typically remain active until they have been executed. However, the statute of limitations for a crime may affect the execution of an arrest warrant (Section 2901.13). For example, certain misdemeanor offenses have a prosecution window of six months to two years after the offense was committed. Although the arrest warrant may be executed outside this window, the arrest itself would be void under the law.