San Joaquin County Arrest Records

In San Joaquin County, arrest records are law enforcement documents created to describe arrest events in the county. An arrest record is prepared to document the booking and detention of an individual. Law enforcement officers are authorized to arrest individuals caught in the act of committing crimes or suspected to have committed crimes. In San Joaquin County, officers of the law making arrests may represent the various police departments in the county or the Sheriff’s Office. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) or the state-level law enforcement agency can also make arrests in San Joaquin County.

The records of arrests made in the county are maintained by the agencies responsible for those arrests. Therefore, you can gain access to these records by contacting those organizations. San Joaquin County arrest records may also be available from the state’s Department of Justice.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office or the police departments in the county may charge arrestees to court to be tried for their crimes. When this happens, San Joaquin County court records are created to track the progress of such matters through the county’s judicial system. Unlike arrest records, court records are prepared and maintained by court officials.

Are Arrest Records Public in San Joaquin County?

Yes. In accordance with the California Public Records Act (CPRA), local and state law enforcement agencies operating in San Joaquin County must make their arrest records publicly available. This law, however, allows law enforcement to block access to certain arrest records such as juvenile arrest documents. Confidential arrest records also include those containing:

• Information that may serve as evidences in ongoing investigations and cases
• Information that may endanger the subject or victims or witnesses
• Information that may cause public bias and make a fair trial unlikely

Public access to San Joaquin arrest records does not guarantee that you can access anyone’s arrest record. Law enforcement agencies may only let individuals access their own arrest records.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Details provided in a San Joaquin County arrest record include:

• The name of the arrestee and other identifying information such as age and gender
• Reason for arrest or arrest charge
• Name of the officer of the law making the arrest
• Police department or sheriff’s office where the arrestee is held
• Where and when the arrest was made
• Booking number

San Joaquin County Crime Rate

San Joaquin County crime statistics are available on the Open Justice Data Portal of the California Department of Justice. These crime numbers are contributed by various local law enforcement agencies in the county. The DOJ’s report shows that there were 5,401 violent crimes and 17,060 property crimes in San Joaquin County in 2023. These index crime figures comprise 75 homicides, 246 rapes, 1,436 robberies, 3,644 aggravated assaults, 3,035 burglaries, 3,583 motor vehicle thefts, and 10,422 larcenies.

San Joaquin County Arrest Statistics

The California Department of Justice also compiles arrest statistics for all the counties in the state. The DOJ arrest data for San Joaquin County show that there were 5,871 felony arrests and 7,563 misdemeanor arrests in 2023. Violent crimes accounted for the most arrests with 2,346 bookings. Property, drug, and sex offenses were the charges recorded for 1,504, 282, and 104 arrests.

While the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation does not provide inmate count by county or facility, it publishes weekly and monthly total population of inmates in California state prisons. Its records show that there were a little over 90,000 inmates in state-run prisons in August 2024. Jail populations of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office and the police departments in the county can be obtained by contacting the jail divisions of these agencies.

Find San Joaquin County Arrest Records

San Joaquin arrest records include inmate locations. This information is available from the various law enforcement and correctional agencies with detention facilities in the county and state. For example, arrestees held by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office can be located with the Who’s In Custody search tool provided on the sheriff’s website. Municipal police departments in the county also provide similar lookup tools on the website or over the phone.

If a San Joaquin County arrestee ends up in a state prison, they can be located with the California Information Records and Information Search (CIRIS) provided by the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). A federal prisoner, however, will be held in a facility managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). You can find such Joaquin County arrestees with the agency’s inmate lookup tool.

Free Arrest Record Search in San Joaquin County

Office inmate locator tools are usually provided free to members of the public. You can use these to conduct free arrest record search to look up San Joaquin County arrestees:

• San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office’s Who’s In Custody
• CDCR’s CIRIS
• Federal BOP’s inmate lookup tool

You can also find independent record search resources online that offer free San Joaquin County arrest record search. These third-party websites often provide convenient one-stop lookup searches for querying the databases of multiple correctional facilities. However, their results may be incomplete or outdated.

Get San Joaquin County Criminal Records

To get a San Joaquin County criminal record, you must contact the California Department of Justice (DOJ). This agency, however, only lets individuals request their own criminal histories. It provides fingerprint-based background checks. Therefore, you must submit a set of your fingerprints for the DOJ to process your request. To get a copy of your San Joaquin County criminal record from the DOJ:

• Visit a local police department, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, or a Live Scan location for their fingerprinting service
• Complete the Live Scan Form (Spanish version) by providing the required details. Make sure to check “Record Review” under “Type of Application” and write it out too under “Reason for Application”
• Take the completed form to a Live Scan location or an alternative law enforcement agency for fingerprinting
• Submit your request to the address provided along with a $25 fee

For those requesting their San Joaquin County criminal records from outside California, the form to complete is the Application to Obtain copy of State Summary Criminal History Record form (Spanish). They must then provide their fingerprints on a blank fingerprint card (Form FD258) before mailing their applications with the required fee to:

California Department of Justice
Bureau of Criminal Identification and Analysis
Record Review & Challenge Section
P.O. Box 160207
Sacramento, CA 95816-0207

The DOJ accepts personal and certified checks as well as money orders for payment. When paying with a check or money order, make it out to the “California Department of Justice”.

San Joaquin County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Although often used to refer to the same thing, an arrest record is not the same thing as a criminal record. An arrest record is a simpler document prepared only by a law enforcement officer. It describes only one event - the detention of an individual. In comparison, a criminal record details the history of an individual's brush with the law following their suspected or proven criminal activities. This document includes records of arrests as well sas charges, prosecutions, convictions, discharges, and incarcerations.

Even if an arrest does not lead to an arraignment in court or a conviction, it must be recorded. Therefore, an arrest record does not reveal whether an individual is guilty or not of the offense for which they were detained. A criminal record, on the other hand, will show whether the court found an individual guilty or not for an arrest charge and what, if possible, punishments they served.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

There is no established retention period for arrest records in California. While the DOJ is mandated to keep all arrest and criminal records until their subjects turn 100, other agencies in the state may have different retention schedules. However, unless an arrest record is sealed or expunged, it will likely be available from at least one agency or court at all times.

Expunge San Joaquin County Arrest Records

To expunge an arrest record is to remove and destroy it and make it unavailable to everyone, including law enforcement and court officers. Unlike sealing, there is no way to regain access to an expunged record. In the State of California, there is no way to truly expunge a criminal record. However, you may be able to convince the right court to destroy it if you meet a strict eligibility criteria.

A California court will require proving your factual innocence of an arrest charge in order to expunge the record of that arrest. A San Joaquin County court will immediately grant a request to expunge your arrest record if you can prove that the arrest was made in error, especially if there was no charge filed after the arrest or a judge dismissed the case at the first hearing. If there was a trial but you were found not guilty or your conviction set aside because the judge ruled that you were factually innocent, you may get your attorney to request the expungement of the record of the arrest leading to the trial. In such a case, you will need to fill and file the California Department of Justice’s Petition to Seal and Destroy Adult Arrest Records (BCIA 8270) with the court.

It is easier to get a San Joaquin County arrest record sealed. Even then, the arrest recorded must not lead to a conviction under the California Penal Code section 851.91. You need the Petition to Seal Arrest and Related Records (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Spanish) to request a record sealing in a California court.

San Joaquin County Arrest Warrants

An arrest warrant is an official law enforcement document signed by a judge authorizing the detention of a named individual. In San Joaquin, a judge might issue an arrest warrant for law enforcement to bring in an individual who failed to appear in court or who violated their parole. Prosecutors and law enforcement officers may also approach judges to approve warrants to arrest individuals suspects or persons of interest deemed flight risks.

A San Joaquin County arrest warrant will have the following information

• Name of the individual to be arrested
• Charge against the individual
• Court at which the individual must appear
• Name and signature of the judge approving the warrant
• Arrest warrant number
• When the arrest warrant was issued

San Joaquin County Arrest Warrant Search

San Joaquin County local law enforcement agencies respond to requests for warrant searches. The Records Division of the Sheriff’s Office maintains arrest warrant records and allows anyone to check if there are outstanding warrants for their arrest. You must submit a request and present a valid photo ID to search for arrest warrants issued by the Sheriff’s Office.

Do San Joaquin County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. An arrest warrant issued in San Joaquin County has no expiration date and is only considered cleared if the named individual dies or appears in the court listed on the warrant.