Spencer County Arrest Records

In Spencer County, it is unlawful to arrest a person without probable cause—every arrest incident must be supported by a set of circumstances that indicate the individual is involved in a crime. After each arrest, the Spencer County Sheriff and other local law enforcement agencies are statutorily required to create a report that highlights the incident resulting in the arrest and provides a physical description of the arrestee. This process is known as booking, and the resulting reports are referred to as arrest records.

However, arrest records generally do not report the outcome of a case. Consequently, if the person arrested was convicted and eventually sentenced to jail, their arrest record will not reflect this detail. Instead, these records are often found in the Spencer County Court Records. Individuals arrested in Spencer County are typically held at the Spencer County Jail.

Are Arrest Records Public in Spencer County?

Spencer County arrest records are public per the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA - Indiana Code 5-14-3). This means that interested members of the public can request to see an arrest report, and upon receipt, may inspect or copy specific details if they wish to. Nonetheless, some arrest records are exempt from public disclosure for public policy reasons, including the need to preserve the integrity of an ongoing investigation and the privacy and safety of all parties involved.

Records that may be redacted from an arrest report include:

• Juvenile arrest records
• Victim medical records
• Records of cases undergoing investigations
• Sealed/expunged records

Exempted records are still accessible to the court and government officials for official purposes.

To confirm the availability of a record, contact the Spencer County Sheriff at:

Spencer County Sheriff’s Office
120 N 2nd Street
Rockport, IN 47635
Phone: (812) 649-2286

Notably, the sheriff’s office may require record seekers to provide certain information, such as the arrestee’s name or date of arrest, to facilitate an effective search. Additionally, copying arrest records may incur a fee.

Find Spencer County Arrest Records

The Spencer County Sheriff’s Office is the primary custodian of all arrest records generated within the county. Similarly, some federal and state agencies also maintain records of arrests made by their respective authorities.

Interested persons can adopt any of these means to find inmates and obtain arrest records in Spencer County:

Contact the Spencer County Sheriff’s Office/Jail
120 N 2nd Street
Rockport, IN 47635
Phone: (812) 649-2286
Fax: (812) 649-6489
Email: sheriff@spencercounty.in.gov

Note: Jail staff are not responsible for calculating an inmate's release date. This falls within the scope of authority of the Indiana Department of Corrections. If an individual needs this information, they should go to the Department of Corrections website or call (317) 232-5715.

Spencer residents can find a person in jail through the Indiana Department of Corrections Offender Locator. They can search by using the person’s full name and date of birth, or by using the incarcerated individual’s DOC number. Enter the above information as a value in the appropriate textboxes and click search to initiate a database query.

At the federal level, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator for federal inmates. Notably, all tools and agencies listed above require record seekers to provide accurate information, like the inmate’s name or date of arrest, to aid an effective search for arrest records.

Spencer County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Spencer County arrest records are official documents created by the Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies during the booking process. They contain details of arrests that occurred within county borders, including the arrestee’s name and description, the reasons for the arrest, the date and time of the arrest, the location of arrest, and the booking number. They are public records and are accessible to anyone upon request.

Spencer's Criminal records, on the other hand, are comprehensive compilations of all legal records in the holder’s name. This includes arrest records, inmate records, court records, and warrants. As such, criminal records provide details of arrests and the subsequent events, including pre-trial detention, court hearings, judgments, probation terms, fines, subsequent arrests, and outstanding warrants. These details are highly useful during background checks and can be obtained from the Indiana State Police's Criminal History Record Information System (CHRIS).

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

In Spencer County, arrests often stay on file indefinitely. To erase them, the holder needs to petition the court where the case was heard for expungement. The requirements for expunging arrest records vary by offense and conviction. Therefore, one should endeavor to confirm one's eligibility before petitioning the court for expungement.

Spencer County Arrest Warrants

Arrest warrants are legal orders issued by judicial officials of the county courts, authorizing law enforcement officers to take an individual into custody for committing a crime or violating court orders. They are usually issued after reviewing indictments filed by law enforcement officers in the county that suggest that the individual is guilty.

To be considered valid and active, state law requires that all Spencer County arrest warrants must contain the following information:

• The defendant’s name (if known) or “unknown” (if unknown).
• A description of the defendant to help identify them accurately.
• A clear description of the offense.
• Date and location of issuance of warrant.
• The name and signature of the issuing judge or magistrate.
• The bail amount.

Do Spencer County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Arrest warrants in Spencer County do not expire; rather, they remain active until the suspect is arrested, the warrant is dismissed, or it is recalled. As a result, they remain on an individual’s criminal history records indefinitely, making them accessible during routine checks, such as airport screenings, traffic stops, and background checks for employment.
In prolonged cases, the issuing magistrate or judge may issue the warrant to different law enforcement officers until the individual is apprehended.

Expunge Spencer County Arrest Records

Expungement is a court-ordered process in which the record of an individual's arrest or criminal conviction is sealed or erased in the eyes of the law. When an arrest record is sealed, it is removed from the official records of the arresting authority and the Department of State Police. The arrestee's name is equally removed from the official index that the Circuit Clerk is statutorily required to keep. Furthermore, because expungement effectively removes the record from the public domain, employers and law enforcement officials are unable to view the record.

The procedure for sealing or expunging arrest or criminal records under Indiana Law is extremely complex, making any attempt to navigate the process without professional assistance extremely risky. This is because there's not enough judicial precedent to imitate, and mistakes may result in severe consequences. It is strongly recommended that a prospective petitioner seek legal advice before filing a petition on their own.