Delaware County Arrest Records

In Delaware County, law enforcement agencies such as the Sheriff’s Office and local police departments can make arrests when they witness a crime or have probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is planning to commit a crime. Once an arrest is made, several factors are typically considered to determine whether the arrestee should be admitted to bail or held in custody until trial. These factors include:

• The severity of the crime
• Public safety concerns

Individuals arrested for offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment under the laws of the state are typically notified of the charge against them, booked, and transferred to the Delaware County Detention Center to await trial.

During the booking process, the Sheriff’s Office or the relevant law enforcement agency collects details about the arrested individual, including their name, address, reason for arrest, fingerprints, and criminal history. This information is compiled into an arrest record, which forms the foundation for creating other public records such as the Delaware County Court Records. These records are critical for keeping track of the timeline of a case from arrest to resolution.

Are Arrest Records Public in Delaware County?

Under the Open Records Act, arrest reports are open and available for public inspection and copying in Delaware County. However, it is vital to note that the portions of an arrest report that are open to the public have been carefully specified by law, and they include the following:

• The arrestee's description, including their name, date of birth, address, race, sex, physical description, and occupation of the arrestee.
• Facts concerning the arrest, including the cause of arrest and name of the arresting officer.
• Chronological list of incidents related to the arrest.
• Conviction information
• The warrant associated with crime.
• The summary of the crime.
• The booking information recorded on the person at the time of arrest.

Only these records and other records specifically made open by state or local law are accessible. Consequently, law enforcement agencies may deny interested members of the public access to other records that have not been categorized as open. However, these records may still be accessible where a court finds that the public interest or the interest of an individual outweighs the reason for denial.

Delaware County Arrest Statistics

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Data for 2018, the Sheriff’s Office or County Police Department in Delaware reported 49 violent crimes, including 2 cases of murder, 11 cases of rape, 1 cases of robbery, and 35 cases of aggravated assault. Property crimes totaled 230 incidents, comprising 89 burglaries, 111 larceny cases, 30 motor vehicle thefts, and 10 cases of arson.

Find Delaware County Arrest Records

Interested individuals can see who is in jail through the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office Website.

• Visit the website and navigate to “Jail” on the homepage.
• Click on “Inmate Search”.
• Scroll through to locate specific inmates; details of all Delaware County Jail inmates have been uploaded to the inmate search page.
• Or search by inmate name at the top of the page.

Details about recently incarcerated inmates may take time to be uploaded to the website. As such, inquirers may visit the Sheriff’s Office at:

Delaware County
Sheriff’s Office
327 S. 5th Street
Jay, OK 74346
(918) 253-4531

The Vine system also assists victims of crimes to search for information regarding the custody status of their offender.

At the Federal level, the Bureau of Prisons Inmates Locator tool allows members of the public to find records of inmates incarcerated in the federal prison system from 1982 to the present. Individuals can access inmates' records through this medium by providing information that sufficiently identifies the specific case, including the first and last names of the inmates and other relevant information that may be required. Records before 1982 are searchable on the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) website.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

When an individual is arrested, details about the arrest generally stick to their legal profile indefinitely unless they have the records expunged through legal means. Expungement is a legal remedy that effectively removes or seals the record from public view.

To file for expungement in Delaware County, an individual must be within one of these categories:

• They must have been acquitted.
• They were convicted, but their conviction has been reversed and dismissed.
• DNA evidence has been used to establish their innocence after conviction.
• The person has been pardoned for the crime by the governor.
• They were arrested but not charged with the crime.
• They committed the offense when they were under 18 years old and have been pardoned by the governor.
• They were charged with a crime (misdemeanor or felony); all charges have been dismissed, and none is pending. The statute of limitation for refiling the charge has expired.
• They were charged with a misdemeanor but the charge was dismissed after they successfully completed a deferred judgment or delayed sentence, they have never been convicted of a felony and no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against them, and at least 1 year has passed since the charge was dismissed.
• The person was charged with a nonviolent felony offense and the charge was dismissed after they completed a deferred judgment or delayed sentence; they have never been convicted of a felony, no misdemeanor or felony charges are pending against the person and at least 5 years have passed since the charge was dismissed.

Delaware County Arrest Warrants

An arrest warrant is a written order issued by a magistrate directing law enforcement to take a person suspected of committing a crime into custody for questioning and investigation. In Delaware, the court will order that a person be arrested via an arrest warrant under any of these circumstances:

• If the person was charged before a judge or magistrate by law enforcement with a crime (in this state or another) based on the oath of a witness.
• If the person fled from justice or escaped from confinement in this state or another state.
• The person broke the terms of their bail, probation, or parole (in this state or in another state).

Once the subject of the warrant is arrested, law enforcement can arrest the suspect anywhere within state borders. However, the suspect must be brought before the magistrate or judge who issued the warrant with all practicable speed to answer the charge. For convenience, they may also be brought before another court.

Arrest warrants are mostly written, and they typically contain this information:

• The name of the person whose arrest is ordered; if unknown, a reasonably definite description.
• The alleged offense.
• The magistrate’s signature.

Do Delaware County Arrest Warrants Expire?

In Delaware County, arrest warrants have no expiration date and will remain valid until the individual named in the warrant has been apprehended by law enforcement or the individual is deceased. However, the relevant law enforcement agency is still expected to effectuate the arrest fairly quickly and without unreasonable delay.