Liberty County Arrest Records

According to Texas State Statutes Article 15.22, an individual is considered arrested if placed under restrictions and brought into custody by an officer or person carrying out an arrest warrant or an officer arresting without a warrant. When someone is arrested in Liberty County, their arrest details and personal information are entered into an electronic version of the "blotter" or form that the arresting officer fills out when checking a suspect into the jail. During this process, Liberty County arrest records are created.

Arrest records are a critical part of a person's criminal history that comes to light during background checks. They are employed by landlords when someone wants to rent a property and by employers to screen candidates for employment. They are primarily used as judicial and law enforcement documents. When someone is arrested for a crime in Liberty County, their arrest records are a significant component of the Liberty County court records for the case.

Are Arrest Records Public in Liberty County?

Yes. Arrest records are public records as per the Texas Public Records Act. According to Texas Government Code Chapter 552, criminal records are available for public viewing and copying. Liberty County arrest records are also considered public documents. Custodians have to make arrest records available to interested members of the public. However, court orders can exempt selected arrest-related information from public disclosure. A few of these records are specially made confidential by Texas state statutes. The following types of Liberty County arrest records are not public records:

• Juvenile arrest records
• Arrest records from child abuse investigations
• Arrest records that are part of a pending litigation
• Arrest records that are part of an ongoing undercover investigation
• Arrest records that will reveal the address of an active law enforcement officer
• Arrest records of a person in a special witness protection program

Sometimes, it is at a judge's discretion to make certain arrest records public as long as they do not interfere with a law enforcement process or lead to impartiality in a judicial process.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

The following information is typically included in any Liberty County arrest records:

• The name of the Arrested individual
• A mugshot of the arrested person
• The age, sex, and physical description of the arrested person ( visible tattoos, any large visible scars, hair color, height)
• A summary of the arrest report made by the arresting officer
• The date and time of the arrest
• The charges associated with the arrest
• Next court appearance date
• Bail and bond information

Liberty County Arrest Statistics

Reports from the FBI's Crime Data Explorer show that the Liberty County sheriff's office made 373 arrests in 2023. Most of the arrests were for simple assault (89), making up 24% of the total arrests made by the agency that year. Drug possession (68) constituted 18% of the arrests, while drug sales and manufacturing (27) made up 7% of arrests.

The least number of arrests was for rape, murder, and disorderly conduct, with only one case of arrest for each offense.

Find Liberty County Arrest Records

Law enforcement in Liberty County operates so that anyone can find an arrest record from the nearest police station or Sheriff's office. This is regardless of where the arrest was made or the agency that made the arrest. For instance, all arrest records submitted to the Liberty County Sheriff's Office are filed by the records section of the county sheriff's office.

The Records Division also communicates with other organizations, including the Liberty County Police Department, the State Attorney General's Office, the local county and district attorneys, the local parole and probation offices, the Department of Public Safety, and other Texas law enforcement agencies. The records divisions of all the county police departments store arrest records and other local criminal records from the jurisdiction in central databases.

Interested persons can request arrest records by visiting the Liberty County Sheriff's office. Requests can be made in person by completing a request form at the office. Requestors must provide the following information in the request form:

• The name of the requestor
• Requestor's Address and Phone number
• Email address
• Arrest record number and the name of the subject on the record
• A summary of the arrest record of interest

Similarly, requests can be made in person or by mail to the Liberty County Police Department. The police department requires persons to complete and submit a public records request form. Depending on the volume of requests and the recentness of the records, it may take a few minutes to many hours to respond.

The county sheriff's office operates the county jail in Liberty County. Anyone can find information on persons arrested and housed within any jail facility by contacting the jail administrator at (936) 336-9395.

Free Arrest Record Search in Liberty County

Interested members of the public may perform a Liberty County arrest record search for free at the Liberty County Sheriff's office. The first ten pages of an arrest record request are free of charge, but requesters may be charged an additional fee of 10 cents for each page. Additionally, anybody can submit a request and have the results sent to their email for free. Law enforcement will not charge anyone arrested in an identity theft case to view their arrest records.

Using third-party websites, it is also possible to search Liberty County arrest records for free. Third-party websites are independent and provide access to records, sometimes for free but mainly as a pay-per-search service.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrest records remain part of a person's criminal history forever. Texas has no automatic expungement statutes, so most arrest records remain attached to a person's history for life. The only way to remove an arrest record is to have the record expunged or by entering a non-disclosure agreement with law enforcement under Texas Government Code §411.071.

Expunge Liberty County Arrest Records

Expungement is a process that destroys documents that reflect a crime, an arrest, or a punishment. When an arrest record is removed from the public domain, it is erased. However, other organizations, including the Department of Homeland Security, might still be aware of the crime.

The qualifying requirements for requesting an expungement of Liberty County arrest records are outlined in Section 55.01 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Permission to expunge a record is only given to an individual if:

• A person is acquitted or pardoned for a crime they have committed.
• Has had charges brought against them dismissed.
• They were arrested for a class C misdemeanor 180 days ago and haven't been arrested since.
• He successfully negotiated a plea deal.
• The individual was not charged with a crime 1 year after the arrest.
• The statute of limitations has passed, making it impossible to prosecute the individual for the offense for which they were arrested.
• Arrest for Certain qualifying misdemeanor juvenile offenses
• The reason behind the arrest was an error, a false report, or another comparable circumstance that showed no reasonable suspicion that the individual had committed the crime at the time of the arrest.

Persons can make an expungement petition in Liberty County by following these steps:

• One must first submit a Petition for expungement to the Liberty County District Court to obtain an expungement.
• The petition should contain the petitioner's personal information, the offense for which they are charged, the date of the arrest, the alleged offense, the name of the arresting officer, and a list of all the organizations or establishments that can have an arrest record.
• If the offense was charged, the court's name and cause number should also be included in the petition.
• Following the filing of the petition, the court will set a hearing date and notify all relevant facilities and agencies—referred to as Respondents—about the hearing.
• The Respondents will have a chance to challenge the expunction during a hearing that the court will hold. If the petitioner satisfies all requirements, the court will grant the expungement.

Once the court has granted the expungement, the petitioner must bring an Order for expungement to the court for the judge's signature. Then, the signed Order must be delivered to every agency or entity holding files or records pertaining to the expunged offense. Following the court's Order for Expungement, the documents will be erased or given to the clerk.

Liberty County Arrest Warrants

According to Texas's Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 15.01, Liberty County arrest warrants are formal directives from a magistrate to a police officer or another designated individual, instructing him to seize an individual suspected of committing a crime so that it can be handled legally. A Liberty County arrest warrant extends to every part of Texas and can be transferred to law enforcement in another city or county for them to execute.

Liberty County arrest warrants are issued when a complaint is brought before a county court judge. The complaint must demonstrate that the accused has directly violated state law or that the applicant has reasonable suspicion and believes that the accused has violated state law. The judge has to determine if a warrant needs to be issued based on the evidence provided.

A Liberty County arrest warrant must specify the following:

• It must include the name of the person whose arrest is being requested if it is known; if not, a reasonably specific description of the individual must be provided.
• It must specify the offense and declare that the accused individual is charged with violating state law.
• The magistrate must sign it, and the warrant must mention his office in its text or with his signature.

Individuals can find Liberty County arrest warrants by contacting the warrants division of the Liberty County Sheriff's office. The Warrants Division is responsible for registering all felony, Class "A," Class "B," and some Class "C" warrants as soon as the Sheriff's office receives them. The division ensures that the information is dispatched to other law enforcement in the county and entered into the Texas criminal information system to access it anywhere in Texas.

Inquiries can be made in person by visiting the warrants office during working hours, by mail, or by phone.

Mailing address:

5345 hwy 146 north
Liberty, TX 77575
attn: warrants
warrant office Phone: (936) 336-4508

Do Liberty County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Liberty County arrest warrants do not expire; they remain active until the subject of the warrant is arrested.