Albemarle County Arrest Records

According to Virginia Law, an arrest occurs when a court judge issues a warrant for arresting a person charged with criminal conduct. However, law enforcement does not always require a warrant before an arrest. For instance, a law enforcement officer may arrest a person who has committed a crime in their presence without a warrant. Also, without a warrant, a police officer may arrest any person they have reasonable grounds to suspect they have committed a felony outside of their presence.

When law enforcement apprehends individuals with or without a warrant, they are taken to the nearest police station or the arresting officer’s law enforcement agency. Once there, the detainee is booked and has their information recorded. This is what forms an arrest record. The Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for maintaining arrest records in the county. County residents can find arrest records at the Sheriff’s Office, located at:

Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office
411 E High St,
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Since arrest records are used in court proceedings, they are a crucial component of the Albemarle County Court Records. When correlated with other public sources, court records provide a complete legal history of each person living in the county.

Are Arrest Records Public in Albemarle County?

According to the definition of public records under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, arrest records are public records. This means that since they are documents held by a public agency, the general populace has the right to access them upon request.

However, there are exceptions. Certain types of arrest information or records are exempt from public disclosure. These typically include:

• Juvenile records: Any record that includes information about minors is generally sealed to protect said minors.
• Ongoing investigations: If the publicization of an arrest record has the potential to derail an ongoing investigation, it will be barred from public viewing.
• Victim identity: If an arrest record contains information that could reveal the identity of a vulnerable victim, it may be redacted. This is especially the case with sexual or domestic abuse victims.
• Other sensitive information: Certain details, such as medical records or mental health information, could be exempt.

To access arrest records, individuals must submit a formal request to the appropriate law enforcement agency, such as the Virginia State Police or the local police department where the arrest occurred. There might be fees associated with obtaining these records.

Note: The specific procedures and eligibility requirements for accessing arrest records can vary depending on the agency and the nature of the documents requested.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Interested parties will find information on the detainee and the officers involved in the arrest in a public arrest record. Here are some details you can see in an arrest record:

• Detainee’s information: This includes the arrested person’s full name, date of birth, physical attributes (height, sex, and weight), and address.
• Arrest details: This includes information such as the arresting agency, date and time of the arrest, location of the arrest, arresting officer’s name, charges filed, and the booking number.
• Disposition: Sometimes, an arrest record will include a court date, judgment outcome, and a sentence.

Albemarle County Crime Rate

According to statistics, the Albemarle County Police Department reported 110 violent crime incidents and 121 offenses. Of the total violent crime incidents, half were cases of aggravated assault (55). There were also three homicide incidents, as well as 37 cases of rape. The Department also reported many property crimes in 2022, with 1,841 all property crime incidents and 1,841 offenses reported. Theft was the most committed property crime in 2022, with 1,629 cases.

Albemarle County Arrest Statistics

The Albemarle Police Department made 1,704 arrests in 2022. All Other Offenses saw the most arrests, with 841 reports. The Department also made three hundred arrests for larceny. Meanwhile, 211 people were arrested for simple assault. Offenses such as vandalism and motor vehicle theft saw 41 and 14 arrests, respectively.

Find Albemarle County Arrest Records

All inmate criminal records and reports are prepared, maintained, and managed by the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Records Department. The records department's duties include responding to inquiries regarding bond amounts, court dates for the charges that convicts are now facing, and time calculations and release schedules about Albemarle County detainees. Records about past and present incarceration. Visit the Albemarle app to locate Albemarle county records, or write directly to the ACRJ to obtain records:

Chief of Operations Gequetta G. Murray-Key
regional jail of Albemarle-Charlottesville
Charlottesville, VA 22902 | 160 Peregory Lane

Free Arrest Record Search in Albemarle County

To search for arrest records for free, interested parties can go through the county’s Sheriff’s Office or Circuit Clerk’s Office. Both agencies maintain public records, including arrest records. Interested parties can also acquire arrest data from Albemarle County by visiting other websites run by third parties. An expert team of public record specialists has carefully chosen and examined these websites to guarantee their accuracy and dependability. It is important to remember that access to specific records on some websites requires a subscription or payment.

Get Albemarle County Criminal Records

Unless specifically exempted by VA Code, Albemarle County criminal records are not available to the public. Additionally, the Virginia Department of State Police is generally prohibited from disclosing any information on juvenile criminal histories. On the other hand, the Virginia Criminal Records Dissemination Code provides the laws governing authorization for the request and release of criminal records to eligible individuals.

The central repository for criminal records in Virginia, the Civil and Applicant Records Exchange (CARE), enables interested parties to apply for and access criminal records in Albemarle County. To perform a background check on a criminal record in Virginia, a requesting party will need an SP-167 form. The price to obtain criminal records varies according to the kind of information sought:

• $15 to conduct a criminal background check.
• $20 to search for both criminal history and sexual offender history.
• $15 for a sex offender records search.
• A non-profit organization's combined criminal history/sex offender registry costs $16.00 for each search.

Interested parties can also send their requests by mail. The form should be downloaded, filled and sent to:

Civil & Applicant Records Exchange (CARE)
Virginia State Police
P.O. Box 85076
Richmond, VA 23285

Albemarle County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Criminal records and arrests signify distinct phases of the legal procedure. When someone is detained by the police on suspicion of a crime, an arrest record is made. It includes basic details such as the person's name, the date of the arrest, the charges, and the arresting agency. These documents are publicly accessible and do not indicate guilt or innocence. Nevertheless, a record custodian may withhold specific facts to preserve privacy or to safeguard ongoing investigations.

On the other hand, criminal records are created following a person's conviction in court and contain thorough information about the arrest, charges, trial (if any), and sentencing. These data may be sealed or erased, especially in situations involving minors, and are not usually available to the general public. A criminal record can severely impact a person's future, especially regarding housing, work, and professional licensure.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrests in Virginia usually stay on a person's record for as long as they are not removed or restricted. If there was no conviction or the charges were dropped, expungement or record limitation can be an option. However, a person's record may be permanently affected by further charges and felony convictions. Local law enforcement agencies—including Albemarle County—adhere to these statutory regulations when keeping arrest records.

Expunge Albemarle County Arrest Records

While an arrest can stay on a person’s criminal history record forever, there are steps they can take to have it removed. An expungement in Virginia will hide records of an arrest concerning criminal charges and seal them from public access. An expungement, however, does not entirely remove all evidence of the relevant criminal offenses.

Alternatively, a judge may allow specific individuals, such as law enforcement authorities, to access the data even after an expungement. The most crucial requirement for expungement is that a court can only grant it when the individual in question has either been wholly pardoned for a crime they did not commit or has not been found guilty of the criminal offense the prosecutor charged him for. However, not all cases qualify for expungement.

The following situations allow people to request the erasure of police and court records under Virginia Code section 19.2-392.2:

• When someone enters a plea of "not guilty" and is found not guilty by a judge or jury
• When a defendant in a civil suit accused of contempt of court is found not guilty
• When the government chooses not to pursue the charges in a nolle prosequi situation,
• In cases where a party hurt in an assault or other misdemeanor declares that they have "received satisfaction for the injury,".
• In a case of identity theft, when someone else is accused of committing a crime using the victim's name,
• When someone convicted of a crime receives an absolute pardon

If someone who meets the criteria above wishes to have the arrest and court records erased from the public record, they must submit a petition to the circuit court of the jurisdiction where the charges were initially filed.

Albemarle County Arrest Warrants

In Albemarle County, an arrest warrant is a court or magistrate's official decree that gives police enforcement permission to hold someone they believe has committed a crime. An affidavit and supporting documentation are required to establish probable cause before a warrant can be granted. The warrant contains the following details: the suspect's complete name, birth date, physical description, alleged offense, and the information of the issuing judge.

Albemarle County Arrest Warrant Search

All active arrest warrants in the county are kept up to date on a complete list by the Albemarle County Sheriff's Office. To find out if there are any active warrants, people can call or come in person to the Albemarle County Sheriff's Office. Interested parties can find the office at:

Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office
411 E High St,
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Do Albemarle County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Arrest warrants in Albemarle County do not expire until the person named in them is taken into custody, the court or magistrate who issued them recalls the warrant, or the charges against the person are withdrawn.