St. Francois County Arrest Records

Law enforcement arrests individuals for suspected involvement in crime, disobeying court orders, and failing to honor court summons. St. Francois County arrest records are official paperwork created to document these arrests. The St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department is responsible for making arrests and generating their records. People arrested in the county are detained at the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department Detention Center.

Arrest records provide information about the circumstances around an arrest and the arrested individual. This includes the arrestee’s name, date of birth, charges that lead to the arrest, date and time of arrest, date and time of booking, and the arresting agency’s name. Arrest records interrelate with several order types of records maintained by law enforcement and the court system.

They can be found when inspecting them, e.g., St. Francois County court records maintained by the county’s circuit court clerk and criminal history records maintained by the sheriff’s office. NB: arrest records do not contain conviction information and, as such, do not summarily imply guilt.

Are Arrest Records Public in St. Francois County?

Yes. St. Francois County arrest records are public under the Missouri Sunshine Law (Chapter 610 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri), although access to certain records is restricted by law. Official copies of arrest records can be accessed by law enforcement agencies, criminal justice agencies, landlords, employers with a legitimate interest in a person’s criminal history as permitted by state law, record subjects, and their legal representatives. Eligible parties may request and obtain these records by submitting a record request to the appropriate custodian.

Arrest records (or portions thereof) may be exempt from the provisions of this law to protect the privacy rights of named persons and to protect public interest. If a person submits a request for a public arrest record that contains certain non-public information, the record custodian shall separate the public portion from the non-public portion before fulfilling the request. Exempt arrest records (information) include sealed records, juvenile records, identifying information about confidential informants, criminal investigation files, and information protected by attorney-client privilege.

People who are not direct parties to an arrest whose records are non-public can only obtain such records if they have a subpoena authorizing their access.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

When inspecting public copies of arrest records, one should expect to find the following:

• The alleged offense that led to the arrest
• Charge classification and description
• Name, date of birth, and gender of arrestee
• The time, date, and location of the arrest
• The name of the arresting agency.

St. Francois County Arrest Statistics

There are public arrest statistics for St. Francois County. For statewide crime and arrest statistics, visit the Uniform Crime Report platform operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to its 2019 report, 156,375 arrests were made in the county in the said year. Arrests made for property crimes were most prevalent, accounting for 18,331 cases. Violent crime arrests were 7,184 while juvenile arrests accounted for 10,435 cases.

Find St. Francois County Arrest Records

The St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department is responsible for arrests and all associated records generated in the county. Interested persons should contact this office during business hours to request records. Visitors should possess the name and date of birth of a record subject to furnish the search. In addition, it is standard procedure to show a valid means of identification during visits.

1550 Doubet Road
Farmington, Missouri 63640
Phone: (573) 756-3252 or (573) 431-2777
Office Fax: (573) 756-9622
Jail Fax: (573) 756-4327
Email: sheriff@sfcsd.org.

At the state level, arrest records can be found during background checks, which can be performed online using the Missouri Automated Criminal History System (MACHS). This service is provided by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s (MSHP) Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division and offers name-based statewide background checks. To use this platform, a person is required to create an account. No fees are required. For individuals arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, see the online arrest report featured on the agency's website. This resource covers information about arrests made over the last five days.

Free Arrest Record Search in St. Francois County

Third party websites exist alongside official resources for free arrest record searches. These websites operate independently and are managed by private entities that aggregate data from official sources. For some of these sites that are not free, searches can be done at minimal cost. Names are the primary criteria for searching these databases, although some sites offer additional search parameters/filters like date of birth and arrest date. Ensure to verify information obtained from these platforms, as their accuracy is not guaranteed.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Indefinitely. Arrest warrants can only be erased from a person’s record if a court orders for their expunction. Otherwise, they will remain on record forever. Nevertheless, note that different agencies have individual record retention policies that impact how long records stay on file at their offices.

Expunge St. Francois County Arrest Records

The first step of expunging an arrest record in St. Francois County is filing an expungement petition at the court with criminal jurisdiction in the county where an arrest took place. If there was a warrant backing the arrest, this should be the court that issued the warrant. The court shall notify the prosecuting attorney and victims (if any) of the petition. The prosecution has up to 30 days after receiving the notice to submit any objections in writing. Thereafter, the court shall schedule an expungement hearing of which every party involved in the case shall be notified.

More importantly, petitioners are expected to meet certain eligibility requirements, e.g.:

• They were not convicted of the named crime.
• There should be no pending civil or criminal action related to the arrest at the time of the petition.
• The offense must not be; a class A felony, sex-related, a misdemeanor or felony offense of domestic assault, a death-related offense, or kidnapping.
• They must be up to 21 years old if the arrest took place while there were minors.
• For felony offenses, three years must have passed since the arrest took place; and for misdemeanor offenses, one year must have passed.
• There must be no pending criminal case, sentence, or probation terms linked to their name.
• All fines, restitutions, and other obligations associated with the offense must have been fulfilled.

Despite meeting these conditions, it is at the court’s discretion to decide whether or not to expunge the records. The court’s decision also depends on other factors like whether the record subject was arrested for a first-time offense, if the prosecution has a strong objection against the expungement, and the nature of the crime named on the record. If the court grants the expungement, it shall issue an order commanding all agencies with information about the arrest to have them destroyed. Following this, the arrest records shall be removed from public access and will not be visible during background checks.

St. Francois County Arrest Warrants

Arrest warrants are issued when, based on evidence presented by law enforcement, a court has probable cause to believe that a person has committed an offense. A warrant is necessary to authorize an arrest and must be carried by an officer while effecting an arrest. Under state laws, an arrest warrant must set forth the name of the suspect, the alleged offense, the name and seal of the issuing authority, the date and county of issuance, and the arrest clause.

Under Chapter 544 of the Missouri Criminal Procedure, law enforcement officers, who witnessed a crime being committed or an ordinance being violated, can make arrests on such occasions without a warrant. The same applies if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a person committed an offense over which such an officer has jurisdiction.

Do St. Francois County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Arrest warrants do not expire in St. Francois County. However, a court may recall a warrant if, based on new evidence, it determines that such a warrant was issued based on false information. Once issued, a warrant stays active until the suspect gets arrested, turns themselves in, or dies. Per state laws, law enforcement officers are required to execute warrants as soon as possible.