Access Free San Diego County Arrest Records & Case Details

Begin your search for free San Diego County arrest records today.

As mandated by the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the California Public Records Act, public records are conveniently available online for anyone to view. Citizens are free to look up public government documents such as arrest records whenever they’d like.

Using the guidance and links throughout this brief resource, searchers can efficiently cut down the time spent looking for arrest records within San Diego County, California.

How To Find Current San Diego County Arrest Records & View Mugshots at No Cost

Within San Diego County, any individual can start looking for public documents such as arrest records. This is a result of the California Public Records Act (CPRA).¹ This statute stops any governmental agency from storing documents away from the public.

However, there are certain instances where a governmental agency will not share records with the public. Some of the documents included in the exemption are:

• Medical Records
• Financial Records
• Juvenile Records
• Records that may harm an individual’s safety.

When searching for arrest records in San Diego County, the first place to start looking is the Sheriff’s Department. The San Diego County Sheriff runs an online Who Is In Jail Tool which can help inquirers find who is in the County Jail.²

Moreover, the tool provides information on arrests completed as well as the criminal charges of offenders. In order to use this tool efficiently, searchers will need the following details:

• First Name
• Last Name

Providing a minimum of two characters each can initiate the search, however to obtain more accurate results, searchers are required to input the full first and last name of the individual in question.

Furthermore, if a citizen is looking for arrests that have not been completed yet, then they can use the San Diego Sheriff’s Warrant Search Tool.³ This tool will provide information about all ongoing warrants including criminal charges.

In order to make the search as specific as possible, citizens can keep track of the following details:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Middle Name

It is also possible for citizens to submit a direct public records request to the sheriff’s department. In order to submit the request, they must first make their own account on the portal.

Similarly, curious parties can submit a public records request to the Sheriff in person or through mail. To do this, they must fill in the Service Request Form first.⁴ The details required in this form are as follows:

• Requestor’s Personal Information
• Reason For Request
• Requestor’s Classification
• Case Information
  • Subject’s Name
  • Aliases
  • Date of Birth
  • Gender
  • Case Number
  • Booking Number
  • Incident Location
  • Arresting Agency
  • Date of Occurrence
• Service Options
• Delivery Options
  • In Person
  • Mail
  • Fax
  • Email
• Payment Options
  • Cash
  • Check
  • Money Order
  • Credit / Debit Card

If citizens are requesting for copies of arrest records, then they must note that it will cost $20. Furthermore, if they choose to pay through credit card or debit card, they will face an additional $3 and $2.5 charge respectively.

The service request form can be submitted to the San Diego Sheriff’s Office using the following details:

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
Records Division
Attn: Records & ID Division — Cases Section
8261 Ridgehaven Ct.
San Diego, CA 92123

General Phone: 858-565-5200
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 4:30 PM

Mailing address:

John F. Duffy Administrative Center
P.O. Box 939062
San Diego, California 92193-9062

San Diego City residents can also access police reports through their local Police Department. To request for copies of arrest records through the San Diego City Police Department, searchers must visit them in person or send mail.

If citizens are choosing to request for arrest records through mail, they will need to include the following details:

• Involved Parties
• Date of Occurrence
• Location
• Report Number
• Incident Number

This process is paid, with arrest records costing $0.50. Citizens should also note that only 1 page of arrest records can be released.

The following information can be used to contact the San Diego City Police Department:

San Diego City Police Department
Records Division
1401 Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 619-531-2846
Email: [email protected]
Working Hours: Monday – Thursday, 8 AM – 4 PM

Mailing Address:

SDPD Records
MS #726, P.O. Box 121431
San Diego, CA 92112

Oftentimes, many governmental agencies will use third-party services like VINELink to cater to arrest record searches. These are often used to run statewide searches and are paid.

Citizens can learn more information about criminal charges through the following section.

How To Gain Insight into Criminal Charges & Former Arrests Made in San Diego County CA

Searchers looking to find prior arrest records can do so through the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. As mentioned previously, the Sheriff is in charge of several tools which will provide all relevant information regarding criminal charges and former arrests made.

Citizens can start off by using the Who Is In Jail Locator Tool to find criminal charges and information on inmates within San Diego County.

Similarly, prior arrest records can also be requested directly by submitting a Public Records Request form to the sheriff’s department.⁵ Citizens will have to make their account so that they can fill in the form.

It is also possible to request physical copies of prior arrest records by submitting a Service Request Form to the Sheriff’s Records Division. The information required to use each of the Sheriff’s tools can be found in the previous section.

In order to contact the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, searchers can use the following details:

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
Records Division
Attn: Records & ID Division, Cases Section
8261 Ridgehaven Ct.
San Diego, CA 92123

General Phone: 858-565-5200
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 4:30 PM

Mailing address:

John F. Duffy Administrative Center
P.O. Box 939062
San Diego, California 92193-9062

Similarly, San Diego City residents can request old arrest records through their local Police Department. Requesting public documents can only be completed in person or through mail. The information required to request for San Diego City police records has been in the previous section.

Curious parties can also look for arrest records at state level through the San Diego County Superior Court of California. The San Diego County Superior Court controls an online Court Case Portal which can be used to find the following information:⁶

• Court Case Title
• Case Number
• Location of Case
• Case Type
• Date of Case
• Involved Parties

The information required to conduct a search on the portal is as follows:

• Case Type
• Case Location
• Party Type
• Dates (Start & End)
• Name
• Case Number
• DA (District Attorney) Case Number

In order to access criminal records, citizens will have to visit the superior court in person. The San Diego County Superior Court of California can be contacted using the following information:

Superior Court of California — San Diego County
1100 Union St,
San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 619-450-7275
Working Hours: Monday – Friday, 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Citizens can also request copies of court records by visiting the Superior Courthouse. They should note that each copy will cost $0.5/page with an additional $40 for certification. Payments can be made by heading over to the Court’s Make a Payment Service.

If citizens are looking for records from 1880 to 1964, they will have to visit the Older Records Division. This can be done via the following details:

Superior Court of California – San Diego County
Central Courthouse – Older Records
1100 Union Street, 14th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 619-844-2400
Working Hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30 AM – 4 PM

Once citizens have found the records that they are looking for, they can learn more about the San Diego County bail process through the following section.

How Do I Post Bail for Someone Arrested in San Diego County?

After an arrest warrant has been set out against an individual in San Diego County, they can post bail to be temporarily released from jail. In order to post bail, individuals will have to pay the complete bail amount.

As long as the suspect shows up in court at the given court dates, the bail sum will be refunded to them.

Within San Diego County, there are two ways citizens can post for bail:

• Cash Bond
• Surety Bond/ Bail Bond

When individuals are looking to post bail by paying cash, they will have to pay the entire bail amount set by the court. This will eventually be returned to them once all the court hearings are complete. However, if the suspect does not show up at the court dates, then they will be liable to face extra charges and the sum will not be returned.

A surety bond or a bail bond is a contract signed between the suspect and a bondsman agent. When the suspect is unable to pay the entire cash sum, they can hire the agent to pay the amount for them. In return, the suspect will have to pay a surety premium.

As per the California Department of Insurance, the surety premium is generally set at 10% of the original bail sum.⁷

Citizens looking to contact someone for surety bonds can go through the certified Bail Bond Agency List created by the San Diego County Sheriff. They can also learn more about bail fees through the official Bail Schedule.⁸ San Diego City follows the same bail schedule created by the San Diego County Superior Court.

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) allows anyone to look up San Diego County arrest records whenever they want; using the tools in this resource, citizens complete their search efficiently.