Woodbury County Arrest Records

Woodbury County’s law enforcement agencies generate arrest records, which contain information on arrested persons and related arrest data. Such records are created after law enforcement officers apprehend suspected lawbreakers. Officers may also arrest individuals to prevent a potential crime or danger. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies may temporarily detain arrested persons at the county jail.

Woodbury County arrest records are primarily accessible at the county sheriff’s office. To obtain the records, interested parties must visit the county sheriff at:

407 7th Street
Sioux City, IA 51101
Phone: (712) 279-6010

Note: Arrest records are also available in crime-related public documents. For instance, Woodbury County court records also include arrest warrant information. Criminal history records and inmate documents may also include arrest-related data.

Are Arrest Records Public in Woodbury County?

According to Iowa Public Records Law, arrest records are mostly public documents. This means the general public has the legal right to request, inspect, and obtain such records from lawful custodians. In this context, lawful custodians are government agencies tasked with creating and maintaining public documents. The agencies are required to provide options through which requesters can access records in their custody.

Iowa state laws exempt certain arrest records from public view. The exempted records generally contain data whose disclosure is judged to not be in the public interest. For instance, arrest information pertaining to an officer’s personal information is exempt or withheld from public records requests. Chapter 22.1 of the state law exempts the following documents from public view:

• Law enforcement officers’ investigative reports or information specified in Section 80G.2.
• Law enforcement agencies’ criminal identification files
• Police reports concerning intervention in mental or substance-related crises.

Note: Designated lawful custodians may release confidential or exempt arrest records to legally eligible requesters. Under the law, record subjects, their legal representatives, or family members can legally request some exempt records. Crime victims or persons directly involved in the arrest event may also view the record.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Public arrest records generally contain information on the following:

• Arrestee’s name, aliases, and address
• Arrestee's physical attributes and features, including sex, age, height, weight, and race.
• Arrest time, date, and location
• Arresting agency’s name
• Charge type and description
• Bond conditions

Woodbury County Crime Rate

According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s report, Woodbury County documented a crime rate of 7385.8 per 100,000 residents in 2023. The report provides information on crimes like assault, larceny, burglary, and robbery. Larceny and assaults were the most reported crimes at 2,003 and 1,740, respectively.

Find Woodbury County Arrest Records

Individuals or entities can find Woodbury County arrest records either at the sheriff’s office or in related public documents. Inmate records are alternate sources for finding arrest records since they contain data, such as the arrestee’s name, charges, and bail conditions.

Persons or entities interested in obtaining inmate records may use resources maintained by government agencies. For example, the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office maintains a searchable database of all arrested persons in the county jail. To view the record, users must visit the site and type in the arrestee’s name, charges, or booking date.

The Iowa Department of Corrections’ online inmate portal is an alternative option for finding arrest records. The online portal provides information on incarcerated offenders within the state’s correctional facilities. To find Woodbury County arrest records, users may input the following details:

• Offender’s first and last name
• Offender’s birth date range
• Offender number and sex
• County and correctional facility holding the offender
• Offense type

Record seekers can also find Woodbury County arrest records using the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator. To get records on the portal, users may search using the inmate’s name or prison-identifying number.

Free Arrest Record Search in Woodbury County

Record seekers can freely search arrest records using government-owned online search portals such as the following:

• Woodbury County sheriff’s inmate search
• Iowa Department of Corrections’ offender search
• Federal Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator

Alternately, record seekers can view arrest records through the county sheriff’s activity log or in person at:

407 7th Street
Sioux City, IA 51101
Phone: (712) 279-6010

Third-party search sites may also offer free searches for Woodbury arrest records. Such sites are typically easy to navigate and do not have restrictions common in official resources. For instance, the sites don’t restrict out-of-country users. Nevertheless, third-party sites should not serve as official sources for finding arrest records since they are mostly unregulated.

Get Woodbury County Criminal Records

In Woodbury County, criminal records are official files that contain data on criminal convictions and other related data. Record seekers will typically find arrest and incarceration information in such records.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), is the lawful custodian of criminal information generated in Woodbury County. As the custodian, the agency allows online, in-person, or mail-in requests for criminal records. To request criminal records online, applicants must fill out the Billing and Request form online and attach the required $15 search fee using a preferred payment option. Next, click on “Submit” to send the request to the DCI for processing. The DCI will send the criminal record to the provided email or mail address.

Woodbury County criminal records are also obtainable via mail, email, or fax requests to the DCI at:

Oran Pape State Office Building
215 East 7th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
Email: dcirecordchecks@dps.state.ia.us

The request must include the following documents:

• A completed record check billing and request form
• A $15 search fee. For mail requests, the fees must be in the form of a check or money order made payable to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations.

Woodbury County Arrest Records vs. Criminal Records

Although Woodbury County arrest and criminal records contain crime-related data, the records are different in the following aspects:

Record content: Arrest records generally cover all data related to an arrest event. In contrast, criminal records contain arrest data and court summaries, dispositions, and incarceration details.

Record creation process: law enforcement agencies typically create arrest records after an arrest event. However, criminal records are created after arrest charges lead to a court disposition.

Record custodian: Record seekers will mostly find arrest records in law enforcement agencies. State-level agencies like the DPS are the designated custodians of Woodbury criminal records.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

In Woodbury County, arrest records do not have an expiration rate. Instead, they remain on record until they are sealed or expunged. To expunge arrest records, record subjects must follow the set guidelines for expungement under state laws. Nevertheless, some arrest records are not eligible for expungement in Woodbury County.

Expunge Woodbury County Arrest Records

Under §907.1, expungement is a legal process for removing arrest records from public databases. In Woodbury County, offenders can expunge arrest records by filing a petition with the district court.

Who is eligible to expunge arrest records in Woodbury County?

Per Iowa Code 901C.2, arrestees can expunge arrest records by meeting the set requirements.

To expunge criminal charge dismissals or not-guilty verdicts, the requirements include:

• The criminal charges were dismissed or acquitted.
• The court-mandated fees, costs, and financial obligations have been paid.
• It is more than 180 days after the dismissal or acquittal. The court may waive this requirement if the offender was a victim of mistaken identity or identity theft.
• The case was not dismissed because the defendant was not found guilty due to insanity.
• The offender was not found incompetent to stand trial.

To expunge misdemeanors, the arrestee must have fulfilled these requirements:

• It has been more than eight years since the conviction date.
• There is no pending criminal charge.
• The arrestee has not been granted two deferred judgments.
• The arrestee has paid all court fees, fines, and other required payments.

How to expunge arrest records in Woodbury County?

Arrestees can expunge arrest records by following these steps:

1. Fill out and complete the appropriate request form:
   1. Rule 2.86—Form 1 to expunge not-guilty verdicts and criminal charge dismissals.
   2. Rule 2.86—Form 2 to expunge misdemeanor convictions
2. Send the completed petition form to the circuit court clerk at:

620 Douglas Street
Room 101
Sioux City, IA 51101
Phone: (712) 279-6611
Fax: (712) 279-6021
CountyClerk.Woodbury@iowacourts.gov

Upon receiving the request, the circuit court will schedule a hearing date and notify all concerned parties, including the prosecuting attorney.

On the hearing date, the court will review the petition and hear objections from concerned parties before making a final decision.

Woodbury County Arrest Warrants

Woodbury County arrest warrants are court orders that authorize arrests of suspected offenders. Under Iowa laws, magistrates may issue arrest warrants after receiving a complaint about an individual’s involvement in a crime. Arrest warrants are issued to law enforcement officers to arrest the defendant.

In Woodbury County, arrest warrants generally contain the following details:

• Defendant’s name
• Offense name or description
• Date and location where it was issued
• The magistrate’s signature and official post

Woodbury County Arrest Warrant Search

Interested parties can search for active arrest warrants through the county sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office maintains all active warrants issued in the county.

Do Woodbury County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Arrest warrants issued in Woodbury do not expire. However, they remain in effect until the offender gets arrested or the court nullifies them. Furthermore, the statute of limitations does not affect the validity of an arrest warrant.