Miller County Arrest Records

The Miller County court records, arrest records, inmate files, and sex offender registries are only some of the official documents produced within the local criminal justice system because of a person's involvement in or prosecution/sentencing for a crime.

Arrest records, in particular, are created when peace officers take an individual into custody—either under the authority of a warrant, based on evidence of a criminal act, or because an officer witnessed a crime (§ 544.180, RSMo). Law enforcement agencies in Miller create arrest records during the booking process, which follows an arrest and involves documenting a suspect's details, alleged offense, and other pertinent data.

Besides promoting a transparent and accountable justice system, arrest records are useful for researching local crime trends, initiating criminal court proceedings, determining offender sentences, tracking offender activity, and filing expungement/sealing petitions. In Miller, these records are maintained primarily by the Eldon Police Department, the Iberia Police Department, and the Miller County Sheriff's Office, depending on the agency responsible for an arrest.

Are Arrest Records Public in Miller County?

Yes. Missouri's Sunshine Law, a set of statutes indexed under Chapter 610, RSMo, guarantees public access to arrest records created and preserved by law enforcement departments across Miller County and other Missouri jurisdictions. However, the law exempts information or documents classified as confidential, usually where disclosure would harm a person, compromise public safety, or jeopardize government interests. These exempt categories of records or information include:

• Records tied to active investigations
• Arrest report of any person who was arrested but not charged with an offense within 30 days of their arrest
• Medical records
• Juvenile offender records
• Graphic crime scene photographs and videos

Nonetheless, where a record, or portion thereof, may be confidential by law, certain entities mentioned in § 610.120, RSMo, may still retain access—typically a defendant, a defendant's legal representative, and criminal justice agencies for an official purpose.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

The following are public arrest records in Miller County:

• Arrestee's full name, gender, race, age, and photograph (if available)
• Arrest date, time, and place
• Arresting agency
• Booking time, date, and number
• Charge(s), including degree
• Bond amount and type
• Holding facility
• Custody status, including release date

Miller County Arrest Statistics

The Missouri Show Me Crime Portal, managed by the State Highway Patrol, provides valuable insights into the crime trends and rates in Miller County, as well as in other Missouri jurisdictions.

In 2024, Miller County recorded 184 arrests. Below is a breakdown of the county's arrest figures across different offense categories:

• Crimes Against Society: 115 arrests
• Crimes Against Persons: 41 arrests
• Crimes Against Property: 21 arrests
• Group B offenses: 7 arrests

Within the highest offense arrest category (i.e., Crimes Against Society), the most frequent arrests were for drug/narcotic violations, accounting for 101 incidents (approximately 88% of the society crime arrests). Weapons law violations were the next highest, with 11 arrests (around 10% of the society crime arrests).

Find Miller County Arrest Records

To obtain arrest records in Miller County, a person may approach the agency responsible for the arrest. However, where the agency is unknown, one may start with the Miller County Sheriff's Office, which operates as the county's primary law enforcement department, or they may benefit from searching third-party sites (as explained in the next heading).

Either way, when querying a local police department for an arrest record, the requester is expected to have specific keywords or phrases that will allow staff to conduct a thorough search. Often, this information is the arrestee's name, date of birth, alias(es), or any other unique identifiers. One can also provide the arrest date, if known. Moreover, the requester will need to prepare any fees associated with their requests (usually when copies are required).

It is worth noting that the Miller County Sheriff's Office maintains an inmate roster online, where interested individuals can find arrest and booking details of persons taken to the local jail facility. The roster also includes persons arrested by state police departments and confined in the county jail.

However, neither the roster nor a specific local agency can provide information about an arrested person who was later sent to a state or federal prison. One can access the Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC) Offender Search portal to find a state inmate. Meanwhile, to find a federal inmate (for example, someone awaiting trial for violating federal laws), one may access the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Inmate Search platform. In both cases, an offender's name or ID number will be required to find record matches.

Free Arrest Record Search in Miller County

Individuals can look up detainees at the Miller County Jail, including their public arrest information, for free by accessing the local sheriff's online inmate roster. An open records request can also be made to a police agency in Miller, and no fees may be collected from the requester if they only wish to view the search results.

In addition, members of the public can access third-party aggregator websites to conduct a free arrest record search. With third-party sites, an individual can usually access a broader array of arrest records, spanning the entire nation. However, while basic searches may be free, users may be charged for advanced access.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrests are essentially permanent components of a person's criminal record. These notations (where they appear) persist throughout a defendant's lifetime and may be viewable to anyone, provided no law or other regulation restricts access.

Admittedly, some records may be deleted or destroyed due to state or local agency retention and disposition schedules—for example, the Sheriff's office keeps arrest records for a minimum of five years. However, this does not imply that those records are destroyed at other agencies where they may exist on file.

To remove arrests from public view in Miller County, one must seek an expungement from a court, but only statutorily eligible parties may obtain such relief.

Expunge Miller County Arrest Records

Missouri has varying expungement statutes that allow accused persons to remove their criminal history records from public view. The specific laws that cover arrest records are codified in §§ 610.122 through 610.126, RSMo. Under these provisions, eligible persons (see § 610.122) can ask the circuit court in Miller County to expunge their arrest records.

Form CR 145: Petition for Expungement of Arrest Records should be completed and submitted to the Miller County Circuit Clerk's Office, along with the appropriate filing fees.

After receiving the petition, the court will fix a hearing no earlier than 30 days from the date of filing to determine the petition's merits. Should the court see legitimate reasons to expunge the arrest record, it will enter an order for expungement directing all agencies that possess the record to remove public access. Admittedly, an expungement does not physically destroy or erase an arrest record, but access will subsequently only be available to subjects and parties with a court order.

The Missouri judiciary's website has forms and guidelines for other Missouri expungements. Individuals are also advised to seek legal counsel to determine which laws apply to their situation.

Miller County Arrest Warrants

Arrest warrants are legal orders from the court system that direct peace officers to apprehend a person suspected of a crime or who has violated a court order/summons. In Miller, magistrates issue these orders after receiving a law enforcement complaint alleging a person's criminal involvement and determining that probable cause exists for an arrest. Court clerks can also issue arrest warrants upon an indictment (§ 544.060, RSMo)

Miller County arrest warrants typically carry the following information:

• A command for the accused person (or defendant) to be arrested and brought before the issuing court
• The name of the accused or, if unknown, any name or description by which they can be identified with reasonable certainty
• The offense stated in the complaint or indictment
• The warrant's issue date and the county where issued
• The issuing official's signature
• Any applicable conditions of release

Do Miller County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. In Miller County, Missouri, arrest warrants—whether for felonies, misdemeanors, or infractions—have indefinite validity. They remain enforceable for as long as their subjects stay out of police custody or fail to address the underlying issues (such as complying with a court order for child support payment or appearing for a hearing). Courts can, however, withdraw or recall an arrest warrant under certain conditions, such as if the original charges are dropped or dismissed.