Daviess County Arrest Records

Daviess County arrest records are documents filed or created after law enforcement takes an individual into custody. They contain information on the circumstances that led to the arrest and the arrested person. Additional information will be available in Daviess County Court Records if an arrest proceeds to court arraignment and trial. The Daviess County Sheriff’s Office is the county's custodian of arrest records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Daviess County?

Yes. Per the Indiana Public Access Law, arrest records are considered public information and are therefore made available to the public with some restrictions. Not all information on arrest records is publicly available. The Indiana Code §35-38-8-1 specifies the arrest records that are exempted from unauthorized public viewing, and these include the following:

• Records of individuals who were not prosecuted
• Records of acquittals, dropped or dismissed charges
• Records compromising witness or arrestee’s safety
• Juvenile arrest records
• Records with personal information (social security numbers, addresses, passwords)
• Investigation records.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Information contained in a public arrest record in Daviess County and other counties in Indiana includes the following:

• Name of the arrestee
• Date of birth of the arrestee
• Physical description of the arrestee
• Description of the arrestee’s charges and type of offense
• Location the arrest took place
• Case information.

Daviess County Arrest Statistics

Per the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2021 Crime Data Explorer, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office reported 312 arrests. The most popular offenses for arrest were driving under the influence (63 arrests) and drug or narcotic offenses (54 arrests). Law enforcement made 145 arrests for all other non-traffic offenses.

Find Daviess County Arrest Records

Daviess County arrest records can be found through the following state and federal resources:

• Daviess County Sheriff’s Office: This office is the county's official custodian of arrest records. Interested persons may visit the Office at 101 Northeast 4th Street, Washington, IN 47501, or call (812) 254-1060.
• Indiana Department of Corrections: They maintain the incarcerated search tool, a state resource for finding information about incarcerated inmates using their first names, last names, or Department of Corrections (DOC) numbers.
• Indiana State Police (ISP): They maintain the Limited criminal history search tool for finding incarceration information for individuals arrested for felonies and class A misdemeanors only. Individuals must create an account to use this tool.
• Bureau of Prisons (BOP): They maintain an inmate search tool for individuals to find inmates incarcerated in federal facilities using either their name or their number.

Free Arrest Record Search in Daviess County

To conduct a free arrest record search in Daviess County, contact local arrest record custodians, such as the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, or use state resources, such as the Indiana Department of Corrections' incarcerated search tool.

Third-party websites also offer a single user-friendly resource for finding arrest records from various countries and states in the United States. To start the search, the record requester will need basic information about the arrestee, such as their first or last name.

While some third-party websites offer free arrest record searches, most require payment for access to more detailed records. The requestor should also note that arrest records from third-party sources may vary in completeness and accuracy compared to official records.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Indefinitely. Arrest records in Daviess County can remain on a person’s criminal history forever unless they are expunged or sealed under the Indiana Second Chance Law.

Expunge Daviess County Arrest Records

Expungement is legally removing records of a person’s criminal history from public view and the restoration of their civil liberties to the state it was in beforehand re the arrest. Eligible individuals can expunge their arrest records in Daviess County and everywhere else in Indiana by filing an expungement petition for their records to be sealed.

Eligibility for expungement in Indiana depends on the nature and severity of the offense, the time that has elapsed since the arrest, and the conviction for the charge. Charges like official misconduct, homicide, manslaughter, sex offenses, and offenses with a deadly weapon are not eligible for expunction.

The steps for expunging a record are as follows:

• The accused ensures they meet the eligibility criteria and have satisfied the required waiting period for their offense as outlined in the Indiana Code 35-38-9
• The accused obtains their complete criminal history from the county clerk’s office
• Fill out an expungement petition and submit to a court with jurisdiction
• Send a copy of the petition to the prosecutor’s office for review
• Attend a hearing if required by the prosecutor
• The court grants the expungement and the record of the offense is sealed or marked as expunged.

Daviess County Arrest Warrants

Daviess County arrest warrants are legal documents issued by a court to authorize law enforcement officers to arrest people suspected of breaking local or state statutes. Before an arrest warrant is issued in Indiana, the law enforcement officer must submit an affidavit of probable cause to a judge.

Generally, arrest warrants are also issued when a person commits a crime, fails to appear in court, violates probation, defaults in child support payment, or flees a crime scene. Daviess County arrest warrants typically contain the following information:

• The name of the person to be arrested
• The nature of the offense the person is accused of committing
• The date and time the warrant was issued
• The county's other jurisdiction over the warrant (issuing county)
• Signature of the issuing authority or judge
• Arrest instructions for law enforcement officers.

Do Daviess County Arrest Warrants Expire?

It depends. Indiana arrest warrants generally do not expire unless the person named on the warrant is arrested, the issuing authority recalls the warrant or a court cancels or invalidates the warrant. Arrest warrants for felonies and rearrests for any offense remain valid indefinitely. Per the Indiana Code § 35-33-2-4 (2023), however, arrest warrants issued for misdemeanors will expire 180 days after being issued.