Ford County Arrest Records

In Ford County, peace officers make arrests to maintain law and order in a particular area. K.S.A. § 22-2401 outlines the conditions under which a police officer can make an arrest, including when evidence of a crime will be lost unless the person is immediately seized.

Usually, arrested individuals are taken to the Ford County Jail and booked/processed for the offense. Processing enables the arresting agency to collect the suspect's information and generate the arrest record.

Ford County arrest records provide valuable insights into a person's contact with local law enforcement departments and are also useful for bringing charges against offenders. However, the records are not the same as a person's entire criminal history record, even though they form a significant part of it. Furthermore, they should not be mistaken for the Ford County court records, which are official accounts of the court proceedings that followed an arrest or indictment.

Are Arrest Records Public in Ford County?

Yes. The Kansas Open Records Act authorizes the investigation and inspection of public records, including arrest records, by members of the public. Notwithstanding, this access depends on the nature and sensitivity of the details surrounding the arrest. As a result, certain restrictions are placed on some arrest information and records. Such records can only be accessed by court order or as stated by state or county law.

K.S.A.§ 45-221 gives a detailed breakdown of records that are not subject to this to KORA and as such one would need the provision of another law or a directive from a judge to access them.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

The details one would find included in a public arrest record in Ford cover information about the arrested party (mugshots, name and/or alias, age, and gender), the charges, and details of the arrest which include the date and time of arrest, location of arrest, incident type, reference ID and the arresting agency.

Ford County Arrest Statistics

Arrest statistics in Ford can be obtained from any of the arresting agencies in charge of the jurisdiction for which an inquirer intends to search. The researcher can forward a written request or stop by the agency in person. However, there is the option of perusing the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Residents would find the latest arrest data for the county.

Find Ford County Arrest Records

Several agencies in Ford have the authorization to arrest an offende, including the Sheriff’s office. To this effect, inquirers can follow the steps outlined below:

• Determine the holding agency: if the requester knows where the arrest took place within the county, finding the agency operational in the jurisdiction would prove no challenge.
• Contact the said agency: once, one finds the agency in charge of the sorted record, the requester can go ahead and reach out to the agency. This can be through mail, onsite, or online depending on the agency. To state an example, while Dodge City Police Department provides an inmate roster online, to obtain an arrest record from the Office of the Sheriff, the interested resident would need to request via mail or drive to the office.

Furthermore, arrest records including their corresponding court records from Ford County contribute to the compilation of criminal records, which are then submitted to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). The KBI is responsible for maintaining all criminal records in the state, allowing individuals to request specific arrest records from the organization.

In some cases, a criminal arrested in Ford County may be transported to a federal prison, for such individuals, inquirers can utilize the BOP inmate locator to find the details of the arrest of such an offender.

Free Arrest Record Search in Ford County

In Ford County, most agencies overseeing arrest records allow free access solely through in-person inspections during regular business hours. Individuals can visit the Office of the Circuit Clerk or any local law enforcement agency to review these records. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the Dodge City Police Department offers online access to arrest records.

Beyond these official channels, there are also third-party websites that provide options for browsing arrest records. While primarily aimed at commercial use, some of these platforms do offer limited access to arrest records at no cost.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Throughout the offender's lifetime. Once attained, an arrest record remains permanent, but, if an expunction is granted following the fulfillment of every requirement, the arrest record is sealed but not necessarily destroyed. To buttress this point, an expunged record although not made available to the public is not made to cease to exist.

Expunge Ford County Arrest Records

K.S.A. 12-4516, 21-6614, 22-2410, and 38-2312 establish the legal framework for applying for expungement within the county. Under these statutes, individuals may seek expungement based on several specific grounds, including:

• Arrests made under mistaken identity.
• Cases where a court finds no probable cause after trial.
• Instances where the arrestee is acquitted.
• Situations where expungement serves the interests of justice, such as when charges were dropped or never filed.

To initiate the expungement process, the applicant must submit a petition to the district court. This petition should comprise detailed information about the arrestee and the circumstances surrounding the arrest, along with a docket fee of $176. The district court will schedule a hearing to assess whether the petition aligns with the state’s expungement criteria.

If the court determines that the grounds for expungement are met, the court clerk will issue a certified order outlining the petition details and the justification for expungement. This order is then communicated to all relevant state and federal law enforcement agencies, specifying the nature of the expungement and indicating who can access the records.

Once expunged, access to these records is restricted.

Ford County Arrest Warrants

The grounds for issuing warrants are articulated in K.S.A. § 22-2302. These legal documents empower law enforcement officers to arrest individuals named in the warrant.

Each warrant includes the name and signature of the magistrate who issued it, along with the name of the suspected offender, if known. If the offender is unidentified, a sufficient description will be provided. Additionally, the warrant outlines the specific charges that justify the arrest, commands the arrest, and states the required amount for bail or appearance.

Do Ford County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Arrest warrants do not expire in Ford, they do not have an expiry date, and they do not become outdated. Even defective warrants cannot be abated or squashed. However, at the request of the prosecuting attorney, an unexecuted arrest warrant can be returned and canceled by the issuing magistrate.