Jackson County Arrest Records

An arrest is the detainment of an individual by a law enforcement officer with or without a warrant. An arrest becomes necessary when there is probable cause to believe that an individual committed a crime, and the charge can range from a minor infraction to a felony. In Jackson County, inmates are typically taken into custody at the Jackson County Detention Center or the Independence Detention Unit after an arrest. Upon arrest, the arrestee is documented in the holding facility's database, and the information recorded constitutes their arrest record.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office, along with local police departments, is the custodian of local arrest records. These arrest records and case information after a case has gone to trial may be found in Jackson County Court Records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Jackson County?

Yes. Arrest records in Jackson County and other counties in Illinois County are public under the Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act (UCIA). Interested individuals can obtain these records by making a record request to the records custodian or conducting a criminal history check as long as the records have not been legally restricted from public view. Records restricted from public view are to protect against invasion of privacy or not to impede an ongoing investigation.

Examples of records that are exempted from public disclosure include:

• Juvenile records.
• Records of ongoing investigations.
• Records containing personal information (Social Security numbers, passwords, bank account numbers, driver's license numbers, and medical records).

To obtain a record of an arrest that has been restricted, individuals may need to obtain a court order and present it to the law enforcement agency, which is the records' custodian.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Public arrest records typically contain the following information:

• Full name of the arrestee
• The general address of the arrestee
• Booking photo
• Description of the charge
• Date and location of the arrest
• Physical description of the arrestee (race, height, weight)
• Bail information
• Name or badge number of the arresting officer.

Jackson County Arrest Statistics

According to the 2021 NIBRS data from the Illinois State Police, Jackson County has a total of 136 arrests. The most popular arrestable offenses (Group A arrests) were simple assault (36 arrests), larceny (25 arrests), and Drug Equipment Violations (22 arrests). The most popular Group B offense was trespassing with 6 arrests.

Find Jackson County Arrest Records

To find inmate information in Jackson County, individuals can use one of the following resources:

• Illinois State Police (ISP): The ISP is a state resource for requesting criminal records across Illinois. They offer an online portal called Criminal History Information Response (CHIRP) through which interested individuals can conduct name-based background checks. Individuals are required to log into the platform with the username and password of their State of Illinois Digital ID. They can be contacted at the following address:

ISP Bureau of Identification
P.O. Box 88727
Chicago, IL 60680-1727.

• Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC): The IDOC is another state-wide resource for finding inmates and their information for all counties in Illinois, especially those incarcerated by the Department of Corrections. They maintain the IDOC Inmate Search tool for finding inmates currently in IDOC's custody. The search can be conducted by name, IDOC number, or birth date.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP): They offer a BOP Inmate Locator Tool for finding federal inmate information. Individuals can find an inmate by number or name using this tool.

Local arrest records may also be available with the County Clerk's Office as part of criminal records. Arrest records may also be available with local police departments and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

Free Arrest Record Search in Jackson County

Interested individuals can conduct free arrest records search in Jackson County by visiting the Jackson County Clerk's office. They oversee public records which include arrest records and make these records available upon request but charges may apply to copy the records. Police departments such as the City of Carbondale Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff's Office also provide lookup services of local criminal histories of arrests they executed.

Third-party websites also provide a central resource for conducting free searches of multiple of multiple counties' arrest records at a time. They provide a more friendly user interface and save search time by removing the distance barrier and the need to visit multiple courthouses or law enforcement offices to look up this information. Although searches are free, some third-party sites may require payment or a subscription fee for full access to the complete record.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Indefinitely. Like other counties in Illinois, Jackson County arrest records stay on your record forever unless they are expunged or sealed. The Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS 2630/5.2) defines expungement and the guidelines by which a person's charges can be removed from public disclosure.

Without expungement, arrest and criminal records are publicly available and will show up when a background check is conducted by parties such as a potential employer, landlord, or licensing body. However, Section 103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) prevents employers from making employment decisions based on previous arrest records unless the arrest is related to the arrest.

Expunge Jackson County Arrest Records

Expunction is the legal process of clearing an individual's criminal record of an arrest, charge, or conviction. For a charge to be eligible for expunction in Jackson County, the specific waiting period for the charge must be completed, the offense must be eligible for expunction, and the individual must have completed all payments and terms of their sentence including probation and parole. The terms for expunction are contained in the state's expunction request form. Offenses that cannot be sealed or expunged include the following:

• DUI
• Reckless driving offenses
• Domestic battery offenses
• Sexual offenses
• Dog fighting
• Traffic offenses (that are not Class A or B misdemeanors).

To file for expunction, the individual or their legal representation completes a Request to Expunge and Impound criminal Records Form by mail or in person and submits it to the court with jurisdiction over the incident. The court reviews the motion and grants it or schedules a hearing if additional information is needed. When the motion was granted, the court issued an order to expunge the record. The court sends a copy of the order for expungement to relevant agencies to erase the record. After expunction, the record of that arrest legally ceases to exist and the individual can legally deny the existence of the crime.

Jackson County Arrest Warrants

A Jackson County arrest warrant is a judge or magistrate-issued legal document authorizing the arrest of an individual by law enforcement officers. An arrest warrant is typically issued when there is probable cause to believe that an individual is responsible for committing a crime if an individual fails to appear in court after a summons if an individual violates probation, parole, or a restraining order.

The process of obtaining an arrest warrant begins when a law enforcement officer presents evidence to a judge that establishes probable cause without reasonable doubt that the named individual committed a crime. The judge reviews the evidence, and if convinced by the evidence, the judge signs the arrest warrant, which is then issued to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

Arrest warrants work according to the specifications listed on them. The law enforcement officer arrests the individual named on the warrant according to the specifications listed and brings the arrestee before the court with jurisdiction over the case to face the charges. Information typically contained in an arrest warrant includes the following:

• The name of the individual to be arrested
• Description of the alleged crime
• Signature of the issuing judge
• Date of warrant issue
• Specific instructions to law enforcement officers on the execution of the warrant.

Do Jackson County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Like other counties in Illinois, Jackson County arrest warrants do not expire. When an arrest warrant is issued, it will remain active indefinitely unless it is executed, the person named on it dies, or it is recalled. Although the arrest warrant does not expire, factors such as the priority level of the case, law enforcement resources, the jurisdiction of the warrant, and new information on the case can cause their execution to be delayed. New information or evidence on a case can also cause the judge who issued the warrant to recall or cancel it.