La Plata County Arrest Records

La Plata County arrest records are official law enforcement records documenting legal arrests made in the county. They are prepared when arrestees are booked by officers of the law, including La Plata County Sheriff’s Deputies and the various officers of the police departments in the municipalities of the county as well as state and federal law enforcement agents. Arrestees are also held at the detention facilities operated by the law enforcement units that apprehended them. When they are charged to court, the arrest information provided by these agencies are also used in preparing the La Plata County court records produced by court officials during case proceedings.

Are Arrest Records Public in La Plata County?

Yes. The Colorado Open Records Act and Criminal Justice Records Act guarantee public access to law enforcement records, including arrest records. However, certain arrest records may be unavailable to the public. These include sealed and expunged arrest records as well as juvenile arrest records, records identifying victims of sexual abuse, and records providing confidential details of ongoing investigations or court cases.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

A La Plata County arrest record prepared during the booking process will include the following details:

• Name, gender, age, race, and other unique identifiers of the arrestee
• A mugshot of the arrestee
• The arresting officer and law enforcement agency
• Offense for which the individual was arrested
• Time, date, and location of the arrest

La Plata County Arrest Statistics

The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) publishes arrest rates for all the counties in the state. Its report for La Plata County shows that, per 100,000 residents, there were 32 arrests for violent crimes, 30 property crime arrests, 37 drug arrests, 214 DUI arrests, and 5 arrests for illegal weapons possession in 2023. The total population figure of arrestees in county jails in La Plata is unavailable. However, the Sheriff’s Office operates the largest detention facility in Southwest Colorado. This county jail has a capacity of 297.

Find La Plata County Arrest Records

Arrest records for locating individuals apprehended in La Plata County are provided by various law enforcement and correctional facilities at county, state, and federal levels. For example, arrestees held at the county jail operated by the La Plata Sheriff’s Office can be located using the search tool provided by the agency. Detainees and inmates held at Colorado state and private prisons overseen by the state’s Department of Corrections can be located from the agency’s Offender Search page. To find La Plata County arrestees held in federal detention and correctional facilities managed by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), use the agency’s inmate locator tool.

Free Arrest Record Search in La Plata County

Inmate locator tools offered by the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Department of Corrections, and the federal Bureau of Prisons are free to use. There are also third-party arrest record finder websites that offer free search tools. These independent services save users by checking multiple official sources at once while conducting arrest record searches. However, free third-party search tools may only deliver partial arrest records missing key details.

La Plata County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

A La Plata County arrest record is a law enforcement document providing details of a civil or criminal arrest. A criminal record, on the other hand, is a comprehensive history of an individual’s engagements with the criminal justice system. This record provides details of the subject's criminal arrests, charges, prosecutions, and sentencing. It is the document produced following a background check.

While the Sheriff’s Office or a local police department in La Plata County can provide the record of an arrest made by one of its officers, you can only request a complete La Plata criminal record from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

An arrest will stay on your record permanently in Colorado. However, the state automatically seals more arrest records when no charge is filed, usually within one year of arrest.

Expunge La Plata County Arrest Records

Unlike sealing, expunging an arrest record erases it completely as if it was never created. The State of Colorado does not allow for the expungement of adult arrest or criminal records except in cases of wrong conviction or mistaken identities. Besides these, the only La Plata arrest/criminal records that can be expunged are juvenile arrest records and arrest records resulting from underage drinking and driving.

The state’s law requires that the law enforcement responsible for the wrongful arrest in a case of mistaken identity petition the District Court in La Plata to expunge the record within 90 days of discovering their error. If the law enforcement fails to submit this petition within this period, the subject of the arrest may petition the court directly and get the record expunged at no cost.

La Plata County Arrest Warrants

A La Plata County arrest warrant is a legal document authorizing officers of the law to apprehend and detain a named individual. To obtain this warrant, law enforcement officers must approach a judge in the county and present probable cause for the arrest. The judge will sign the warrant if convinced of the need to arrest the individual concerned.

The signed arrest warrant must include the following details:

• Name of the individual to be arrest
• Probable cause or reason for the arrest
• Name and signature of the judge that approved the warrant
• Name of the court where the subject of the court must appear
• Date of issue

Do La Plata County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. A La Plata County arrest warrant remains valid until the named individual is arrested or appears in the court. The only other way to invalidate such a warrant is to have a La Plata County court recall and quash it.