Santa Clarita Arrest Records

Arrest records for the City of Santa Clarita are legal documents that detail the arrests made by law enforcement in the city. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station, operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, is the city's primary law enforcement and arresting agency responsible for generating arrest records. Suspects detained by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station are housed at the Santa Clarita Station Jail or one of the facilities operated by the Los Angeles County Jail.

The Santa Clarita Police Department makes arrests, generates arrest records, and provides public access to these records. Arrest records may also be accessible as Los Angeles County Arrest Records in the custody of the court system or within criminal history records maintained by the state Department of Justice.

Are Arrest Records Public in Santa Clarita?

Under the California Public Records Act, arrest records for Santa Clarita are considered public. This act instructs custodians of these records to provide access to the general public unless the records or information they contain are specifically exempted or restricted by the act. Examples of restricted information include the following:

• Medical records
• Arrest records concerning juveniles and minors
• Information that may negatively affect ongoing information
• Information that may endanger witnesses to a crime or the general public
• Information that could identify a victim of a crime or a confidential informant

Santa Clarita Arrest Statistics

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station collects crime statistics such as arrest figures and submits them to the national database maintained by the FBI. The FBI Crime Data Explorer data shows that Santa Clarita reported 2415 arrests in 2023. This figure included 673 arrests for drug/narcotics offenses, 265 arrests for aggravated assaults, 211 arrests for simple assaults, 197 arrests for DUI offenses, 132 arrests for larceny, 103 arrests for weapons violations, 89 arrests for burglary, 60 arrests for vandalism, nine arrests for fraud, and two arrests for homicide.

Offenders arrested in Santa Clarita are generally booked at the sheriff's station located at:

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station
26201 Golden Valley Road,
Santa Clarita, CA 91350

Find Santa Clarita Arrest Records

Interested parties looking for inmate information for Santa Clarita may obtain it from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. Inquiries can be made by calling the sheriff's station at (661) 260-4000. As the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office operates the Santa Clarita station, inmate records can also be found using the Inmate Locator on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Center website. Record seekers may call the Inmate Information Center at (213) 473-6100 for questions about inmate location and general custody-related matters.

Santa Clarita Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Santa Clarita arrest records and criminal records document an individual's dealings with law enforcement. Arrest records deal with arrests and detail the circumstances surrounding the arrest. These records will generally contain the suspect's identity, a physical description, the crime committed, the laws violated, charges filed, arresting agents, booking information, and court hearing information.

On the other hand, criminal records are more extensive and contain a person's entire criminal history. This includes all their arrests, trial details, court records, verdicts, sentencing, and prison and supervision records. Unlike arrest records, criminal records are proof of a suspect's guilt and are generated by different agencies as the suspect passes through the legal system.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record in Santa Clarita?

Arrest records in Santa Clarita will remain on a person's record indefinitely unless they take the necessary steps to remove them. However, certain records may qualify to be automatically sealed if they meet certain conditions. Arrests with no charges filed may qualify to be automatically sealed after a waiting period, while arrests where the case was dismissed may be sealed immediately as a result of the dismissal. It should be noted that convictions for serious felonies, such as violent or sexual crimes, are not eligible to be sealed or expunged.

Santa Clarita Arrest Warrants

According to California Penal Code Sections 813 to 820, a Santa Clarita arrest warrant is a legal document that authorizes law enforcement to arrest an individual accused of a crime. For a warrant to be issued, the judge or magistrate must receive a complaint charging that a felony originally triable in the superior court of the county in which they sit has been committed. If the magistrate is satisfied with the evidence in the complaint that the crime was committed, and there is reasonable ground that the defendant in the complaint committed it, they may issue the arrest warrant.

While the exact form of an arrest warrant may vary by jurisdiction, they typically contain the following information:

• The defendant's name or a designation by which they can accurately be identified
• The crimes committed and the laws they violated
• The date, time, and location of issuance
• Instructions to peace officers of California to arrest the defendant and bring them before the issuing magistrate/court
• A bail amount (if applicable)
• The signature and title of the issuing magistrate

Do Santa Clarita Arrest Warrants Expire?

Arrest warrants issued in California, including Santa Clarita, do not expire. They remain active indefinitely until the defendant is caught or the issuing courts recall the warrant. While crimes have a statute of limitations governing how long it takes charges to be filed, as long as the warrant is filed before the statute expires, the warrant remains valid and the defendant can be arrested at any time.

Expunge Santa Clarita Arrest Records

In California, arrests without convictions are typically easier to seal than convictions. Most non-conviction arrests may qualify to be automatically sealed after a waiting period. Under the California Clean Slate Act, the following records will be sealed automatically without the need for a petition:

• The defendant was found not guilty or acquitted
• The case was dismissed
• The defendant completed a government diversion program
• The statute of limitations of the case expired
• The prosecution declined to press charges, and no new charges are pending

To qualify for expungement, a conviction must meet the following criteria:

• The applicant may have been sentenced to probation or county jail, but not federal or state prison
• All sentences must have been completed, along with any fines or court-ordered requirements
• No pending charges, probation, or prison sentences for another case
• Applications can be made after completing all court requirements or 1 year after the conviction was complete

To expunge a record, applicants may follow these steps:

• Obtain a full criminal history from the Los Angeles Superior Court or the California Department of Justice.
• Obtain and fill out the required forms. Petition for Dismissal (CR-180) and the Order for Dismissal (CR-181). Some courts may require the Declaration (MC-031), which is a statement detailing why the applicant requires expungement.
• File the forms and pay any required filing fees at the appropriate court. For Santa Clarita, filings should be made at:
  Los Angeles Superior Court, Santa Clarita
  23747 W. Valencia Blvd.
  Santa Clarita, CA 91355
• Some courts may require the applicant to serve the local prosecutor's office with a copy of the petition.
• The court will review the petition and may order a hearing, especially if the prosecutor challenges the petition. The applicant must show up for the petition and provide testimony and evidence that they require the expungement.
• If the petition is granted, the judge will sign form CR-181. The court will sign the order of dismissal and notify all parties to update their records.