Charlotte County Arrest Records

Florida law 901.15 grants state law enforcement agencies the authority to make arrests in Charlotte County with or without a warrant if they believe a crime has been committed or is being committed. Charlotte County residents may also be subject to arrests by federal law enforcement officials per Florida Statute section 1505 2024. Any person who the police reasonably think to have committed a felony or misdemeanor as specified by state statute may be arrested without a warrant if the officer reasonably suspects that the offense has been committed.

Charlotte County arrest records are created after an arrest has been made in a process known as booking. The booking process usually involves obtaining all the personal information of the individual who has been arrested, along with details regarding circumstances and events before, after, and during the arrest. This information is entered into an electronic filing system, a database, and a physical filing index. Suppose the individual is arrested for another criminal act. In that case, data on the new arrest can be included in this arrest record, and the file will be part of a person's criminal history.

Charlotte County arrest records are managed by law enforcement and judicial officials since they are sometimes featured within Charlotte County Court Records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Charlotte County?

Arrest records are regarded as public records in Charlotte County per Chapter 119 of the Florida Public Records Law, also known as the Florida Sunshine Laws. Charlotte County arrest records fall under the category of criminal history information per 943.045 of the 2024 florida statutes, including arrest reports, notifications of arrest, criminal charges, and detention records. The public records law instructs agencies to make channels available for disseminating arrest records to interested public members. However, certain types of Charlotte arrest records are exempt from public disclosure. Some exempt arrest records include:

• Any arrest record that is part of an active criminal investigation
• Arrest reports that have the social security number of arrested individuals
• Arrest records or reports that will reveal the identity of a sexually abused victim
• Arrest records containing information about "an identifiable person or group of persons collected by a criminal justice agency to anticipate, prevent, or monitor possible criminal activity" are called "criminal intelligence information".

A court order can also seal Charlotte County arrest records from public access. Unlike other states in the U.S., juvenile arrest records are public records in Charlotte County, Florida.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

A public arrest record created by a law enforcement agency in Charlotte County usually contains the following information:

• The name of the arrested person
• Race and sex of the detained individual
• The date and time of the arrest
• The nature of the crime that was being committed or reported
• The name of the arresting agency
• Booking number
• Booking date
• Possible date of release
• Court date (if set)

Charlotte County Arrest Statistics

The latest data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows 5402 arrests in Charlotte County, Florida, in 2020. Adult arrests were 5089, while juvenile arrests were 313. According to this data, most arrests were for drug-related offenses, which accounted for 51% of the total arrests made. There was a total of 1230 arrests for simple assault, which was 22% of the arrests made for that year. There were 418 arrests for robbery, which was 7.9% of the total arrests. There was only one arrest for murder, one arrest for manslaughter, and one arrest for the crime of kidnapping/abduction, which were the least committed crimes in the County.

Find Charlotte County Arrest Records

Interested members of the public may find Charlotte County arrest records by visiting the police departments or the Charlotte County sheriff and requesting them. Inquirers typically have the option of requesting arrest records specific to the local police department they visit or requesting a statewide arrest records search. Most police departments also have online portals where requesters can access arrest records following a public records request. To search Charlotte County arrest records online or in person at a police department, interested persons must provide certain information about the record of interest. This information typically includes:

• Name of the individual (including any aliases)
• Individuals' date of birth
• Last known address

Information on any person arrested and held in a Charlotte County jail may be found by contacting the agency that made the arrest. Most police departments in Charlotte County transport detained persons to the Charlotte County Jail for booking. For instance, after being taken into custody by the Punta Gorda Police Department, an individual is taken to the Charlotte County Jail for processing. Interested individuals can find information on inmates held by the Charlotte County Jail by contacting the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at (941) 639-2101 or by looking up inmate information on the department's online local arrests database.

When federal and state agencies in Charlotte County make arrests, persons seeking information about such arrests have the following options:

• If a state agency has arrested someone, persons looking for them should contact the local sheriff's office or police department in the area where the arrest was made. The suspect will be brought to the closest county jail for booking, which is often a sheriff's station.
• Individuals can also contact the Florida Department of Corrections to inquire about incarcerated individuals in Charlotte County.
• The Federal Inmate Locator tool allows interested persons to look up federal arrest inmates by entering their name or unique identifying number. However, the information provided on this database is limited to inmates held in federal facilities

Free Arrest Record Search in Charlotte County

Interested persons may perform an arrest record search for free at the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. Inquirers may request an uncertified arrest record at this office at no cost. Visitors need only to provide the name of the person of interest to the staff at the office, and the staff will query the department's in-house database and provide arrest records within minutes. Interested persons may also request arrest reports, mugshots, wanted person lists, and other arrest data online from the county sheriff's website, and the information will be sent by mail to the requestor's email for free.

Free Arrest record searches may also be done through third-party sites. Third-party sites are privately owned databases called "aggregators" because they pull information from various sources into one repository. However, the free versions of most third-party sites are limited in the amount of information they make available. Users can enter their first and last names to conduct a free search on a third-party website; however, obtaining a detailed report on an individual's arrest history typically requires the payment of a fee.

Get Charlotte County Criminal Records

A Charlotte County criminal record is an official documentation of the offenses for which a person was charged, arrested, found guilty, tried, detained, and served time in jail. It also displays instances in which a defendant entered a guilty plea. The primary source of Florida's criminal history data is the Division of Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The agency is responsible for keeping track of criminal history data and granting the public access to it upon request. Inquirers may request arrest records from the division online, through mail, and in person at the department's office.

Online requests can be made using the FDLE online portal by submitting the name of a person of interest. The search will yield a list of potential matches related to the query's subject. Requestors must review this list to see if potential candidates fit their subject. Customers conducting online searches will receive instant access to results, which they may print or send to their email; however, the records will not be certified.

Individuals can also use the FDLE mail address entry request system to request certified or non-certified copies of Charlotte County criminal records. The system allows persons to submit a name associated with the criminal record and an address to which the records will be delivered. The results are returned to the consumer via standard U.S. Mail and can be notarized. It takes 5 business days for non-certified processing and 6 to 7 business days for certified processing. Every search through any channel costs $24.00. There is also a $1 credit card processing fee.

Inquirers may also visit any law enforcement agency in Charlotte County and request a criminal records check using the agency's ORI number.

Charlotte County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

A Charlotte County arrest record shows that a person was detained by law enforcement; however, it does not prove that a person committed a crime. Arrest records typically consist of a list of the offenses for which the applicant was approached by law enforcement and then placed under arrest. Not all arrests result in convictions.

On the other hand, a criminal record is a list of all a person's interactions with the criminal justice system. It can contain personal information, physical description, photographs, offense information, criminal charges, trial outcome, post-conviction status, incarceration information, parole eligibility, and more. It is sometimes called an RAP sheet (records of arrest and prosecution).

The outcome of an arrest is the primary distinction between an arrest record and a criminal record. Arrest records do not reveal a person's convictions and infractions, but criminal records do.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Indefinitely. Arrest records are created the moment a person is arrested for a crime. They effectively last for the rest of a person's life. However, Florida Statutes Section 943.0581 allows for the Automatic expunction of arrest records of juveniles arrest records once a person turns 21 if the person was arrested "contrary to law or by mistake". A person is also eligible to have their arrest records expunged at the age if they were convicted as a juvenile but not having faced charges or been found guilty of a violent crime as an adult or when tried like an adult.

Generally, the only way to erase an arrest record is to have it expunged or sealed under Florida laws.

Expunge Charlotte County Arrest Records

While the effects of sealing and expunging an arrest record are similar, there are some minor differences. Generally, public access to a sealed or expunged record is restricted. Information about sealed records is available only to certain related or governmental entities, mainly those mentioned in Section 943.059 of the florida statutes.

When a record is expunged, most agencies with access to a sealed record will be notified that the subject of the record has had a record expunged, but they will not have access to the record itself without a court order.

A person is eligible to expunge Charlotte County arrest records if they meet the following criteria:

• No Previous Sealing or Expungement: A person is not permitted to possess a prior record sealed or expunged in Florida under Florida Statute Section 943.059, in any other state, or under Section 943.0585 of the Florida Statutes.
• Completion of Sentence: This includes all aspects of the sentence, including probation.
• No Active Criminal Charges: The applicant must not have been the subject of any active criminal proceedings at the time of the application.
• Mandatory Waiting Period: Record holders are typically required to wait a specified amount of time after serving their sentence before applying for an expungement. After being sealed for 10 years, those initially ineligible for expungement (due to adjudication being withheld) may now be eligible. However, a person cannot request to have one arrest record sealed or expunged and then, later on, and in a separate procedure, apply for a different one.

Specific categories of felonies, such as third-degree felonies listed under Section 943.0585, are among the arrest records that can be expunged. First-time drug possession offenders and those found not guilty or acquitted can frequently have their records erased, mainly if they have completed a drug court program.

While many felonies can be expunged, very heinous crimes—such as murder, sexual assault, and child abuse—cannot be erased.

Arrest records can be expunged by following these steps:

• The first step is to fill out the Application for Certification of Eligibility on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement website. The applicant must then sign the application before a notary public under oath.
• The next step is to apply to the FDLE and Charlotte County State Attorney's Office via mail or in person. If the application is accepted, the FDLE will send a "Certificate of Eligibility". Applications should be addressed to:

Charlotte County State Attorney
350 E Marion Ave,
Punta Gorda,
FL 33950, United States

• Applicants must then fill out a "Petition and Affidavit to Expunge or Seal" from the Charlotte County court where the charges were brought or from any court in the county if no charges were filed. The applicant must file the initial petition and Certificate of Eligibility with the Charlotte County, Florida court clerk.

If the court rejects a request, a hearing will be held to discuss the issue. If a hearing is scheduled, the applicants will be informed by the Court Clerk of the day and hour of the hearing. If there are no objections to the request, the Clerk will send all supporting documentation to the Court. The Court will then issue an Order Sealing or Expunging the Record in a few weeks and communicate a copy of this signed Order to the applicant.

Charlotte County Arrest Warrants

An arrest warrant is a court order or prosecutor's directive to take someone into custody or court so they can appear in court concerning a legal matter.

Per 901.02 of the florida statutes, when a law enforcement official applies for an arrest warrant, the Charlotte County Court Judge issues the warrant if, after reviewing the complaint and supporting documentation, the judge determines that there is probable cause to issue an arrest warrant for any crime committed within the judge's jurisdiction. An arrest warrant that is issued in Charlotte County must contain the following information as per rule 3.121 of the Florida Supreme Court rules:

• The name of the individual to be arrested or, if the individual's name is unknown, a physical description that allows for an adequate guarantee of identity;
• The date issued and the county where it was issued;
• It must state the nature of the offense;
• The warrant must order the individual against whom the complaint was lodged to be taken into custody and appear in court;
• The warrant must be signed by a judge and show the title of their office;
• If the offense is bailable, the warrant must specify the amount of bail and the return date.

Charlotte County Arrest Warrant Search

In order to look up arrest warrants in Charlotte County, inquirers may visit the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office or any police department and request an arrest warrant search. Custodians will typically request a name from the requestor, which will be used to query their in-house database to find active arrest warrants. The county sheriff's office also has an online database that can be used to look up arrest warrants. Searches can be done using a name or warrant number.

An alternative option for searching for active warrants in Charlotte County is through the Florida Crime Information System portal. This database includes information about Florida warrants that law enforcement agencies around the state have reported to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and that have been approved for public release. Interested persons can search this portal for the suspect's name, nickname, sex, age, and date of birth.

Do Charlotte County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Arrest warrants do not expire in Charlotte County. A person can be arrested on a warrant issued 10-20 years ago. Charlotte County warrants only become inactive when they are executed or if they are recalled by a judge based on new evidence.