Amador County Arrest Records

In Amador County, law enforcement officials are required to make arrests when they have reasonable cause to believe a crime has been committed and that a specific individual is likely responsible. Under these circumstances, law enforcement, including the sheriff or local police, may restrain individuals and take them into custody.

State law presumes arrested individuals are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Therefore, it is unlawful for the police to detain an individual for an unreasonable period without a charge. Those arrested for less severe offenses—such as minor infractions or misdemeanors—are typically allowed to post bail after a reasonable period in detention. The bail option allows the arrestee to provide a financial guarantee that they will appear for their scheduled court dates following their release from custody. In contrast, suspects of more serious offenses may be held at the Amador County jail until their first court hearing.

Information about these court appearances is preserved in the Amador County court records archive, which often continues from where arrest documentation leaves off. Consequently, arrest records maintain information from the point of arrest to the period of arraignment and serve as the foundation for other public records. The Records Division of the Amador County Sheriff's Office generates and maintains these arrest records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Amador County?

The Public Records Act (CPRA) requires state and local law enforcement agencies to make their records, including arrest records, available for public inspection unless an exemption from disclosure applies. An exemption typically applies when the disclosure of a particular information would endanger the safety of a person involved in the investigation or an ongoing investigation. In addition, information identifying a person as the victim of a crime may also be withheld at the victim's request.

However, individuals seeking access to arrest records for scholarly, journalistic, or governmental purposes may receive preferential treatment in reviewing certain portions of an exempted record.

Amador County Arrest Statistics

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Data, the following number of violent offenses were reported by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office or County police department in 2018. There were 3 cases of murder, 8 cases of rape, five robbery cases, 67 aggravated assault cases, 338 property crimes, 78 burglaries, larceny was recorded at 258, 2 motor vehicle theft, 4 cases of arson, and 83 violent crimes.

Find Amador County Arrest Records

Knowing what resources to use when seeking Amador County arrest records can help save costs and time.

Requesters can obtain copies of all reports and incidents initiated by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, including records of bookings from the Amador County Jail, by emailing this Records Request Form along with a copy of their ID to the department. The request process can also be initiated in person by filling out the request form and submitting it over the counter at the Sheriff’s Office:

700 Court Street,
Jackson, CA 95642
(209) 223-6500

Note: The agency typically charges a fee for requests, and request processing may take up to 10 working days (excluding weekends).

The Sheriff’s Office also maintains an online roster for inmates recently incarcerated in the county jail. Individuals who wish to inspect this roster can do this through the Sheriff’s Office website:

• Visit the website and navigate to the corrections division heading.
• Select and click on general information in the menu
• Proceed to Inmates and crime graphics
• On the follow-up page, click on incarcerated people
• The landing page contains a list of inmates in local custody

If researchers are unable to locate the inmate, they can be more specific with their search through the incarcerated person’s name field at the top of the page. Navigate to the top of the page, enter the inmate’s name, and click on search to query the database.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator tool also allows requesters to locate federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present. Requesters can search by number or name to find out where an inmate is being held.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Information about a previous arrest will remain on record indefinitely unless expunged or deleted from the state’s database. Consequently, expungement allows former arrestees who were fingerprinted at the time of the arrest to have their DNA specimen and sample destroyed and a searchable database profile deleted from the state’s databank. However, certain procedures and requirements are attached to obtaining this relief. To be eligible for expungement:

• The arrestee must have no pending charge justifying the retention of the specimen sample or searchable profile.
• Where the arrest leads to a conviction, but the conviction has been reversed and the case dismissed.
• The individual arrested has been found factually innocent of the offense.
• The arrested individual was found not guilty or was acquitted of the offense.

Once the eligibility requirements have been met, the arrestee can initiate the expungement process by sending a copy of their request to the County trial court, the DNA Laboratory of the Department of Justice, and the Amador County District Attorney's Office, with proof of service on all parties.

At the hearing, the applicant should be prepared to provide:

• Proof of written request for expungement.
• A certified copy of the court order reversing and dismissing the conviction or case, or a letter from the district attorney certifying that no charge has been filed or the charges that served as the basis for collecting a DNA specimen and sample have been dismissed.
• Proof of written notice to the prosecuting attorney and the Department of Justice that expungement has been requested.
• A court order verifying that no retrial or appeal of the case is pending, that it has been at least 180 days since the defendant or minor has notified the prosecuting attorney and the Department of Justice of the expungement request, and that the court has not received an objection from the Department of Justice or the prosecuting attorney.

Where the court grants the order, the applicant must present the court order to the DOJ. Upon receipt of the order, the DOJ must destroy all DNA database profiles related to the individual.

Note: The court has the discretion to grant or deny the request for expungement. The denial of a request for expungement is a non-appealable order and shall not be reviewed by petition for writ.

Amador County Arrest Warrants

Considering that felonies can occur without a trace as to who is responsible, arrest warrants serve as a critical tool for bringing individuals who may have no direct connection to a crime scene into custody. An arrest warrant is a legal document issued by a judge or magistrate, authorizing law enforcement to apprehend a person suspected of committing a crime.

To obtain an arrest warrant, the Sheriff's Office or the relevant law enforcement agency must establish probable cause before a judge by providing evidence sufficient to charge the suspect with the alleged offense. If the judge is satisfied by the evidence, she issues a warrant in the form of a document containing this information:

• The name of the individual to be arrested
• The date and time the warrant was issued
• The charge against the person
• The name and signature of the judge or magistrate
• Information on how to execute the arrest

Once law enforcement finds the person for whom the warrant has been issued, they can immediately arrest and jail them so they can appear in the court that issued the arrest warrant.

Do Amador 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.