IA’s local and state law enforcement agencies are in charge of criminal histories and arrest records. They provide criminal record reports to the general public, which includes all the information allowed by law. Any arrests that are older than 18 months without a disposition will not be on the report. Each record request costs $15, and that fee is non-refundable. Their website uses a simple name search, and then the results can be narrowed down by other criteria available. To search, an individual must have the person’s date of birth to find him or her.
Yes, although some information will be limited, and in many cases a signed consent form from the subject is required. However, in most cases, an individual can perform a quick and easy name search to find someone and review their arrest records online.
White | 65% | |
Black or African American | 29% | |
Unknown | 3% | |
Asian | 1% | |
American Indian or Alaska Native | 2% | |
Native Hawaiian | 0% | |
Offenders w/ reported race | 3,562 |
White | 77% | |
Black or African American | 18% | |
Unknown | 3% | |
Asian | 1% | |
American Indian or Alaska Native | 1% | |
Native Hawaiian | 0% | |
Victims w/ reported race | 3,765 |
An Iowa arrest record will have a lot of information on it. First, it will include general demographic data like name, phone, email, address, height, weight, gender, race, age, date of birth, fingerprints and sometimes even Iowa mugshots. It will also contain details of their arrests like date and time of arrest, the location of the arrest, officer’s name and badge number, arresting agency, the charges, disposition, incarcerations and any information pertaining to vehicles involved.
Yes, police reports in Iowa are public records. The Des Moines city website has a section on it where the public can request copies of a police report. When requesting, you can get one in person or through the mail. Either way, you have to fill out a form and pay a fee. The form requires that you fill out some basic information like:
The fee is $5 for each police report, vehicle crash report, trip log, OWI report, Officer’s OWI Certification, and PBT Calibration Log. They also sell audio and video recordings for an additional $15 each (dispatch audio record, body-cam footage, in-car camera recording, and a photo CD).
The history of mugshots goes all the way back to the 1800s when photography was first invented. Since then, mugshots have become an important part of the arrest and booking process for law enforcement. A French policeman named Alphonse Bertillon first made it standard practice to use mugshots. The term “mugshot” comes from the slang word “mug,” meaning your face. Generally, mugshots consist of two angles (a front-facing shot and a profile shot). They are used by investigators, witnesses, and victims to identify criminals.
Iowa mugshots are readily available online. In fact, many of the local county jails have arrest search areas on their websites where you can view information about people who were recently arrested, their crimes, dates of birth, and a mugshot. Mugshots can also be found on news websites and informational portals that serve up public records.
Iowa’s jails are fairly overcrowded, and therefore the booking process is lengthy. A booking department is a busy place with a lot of suspect processing to get through. After someone is arrested in Iowa, even if just for a DUI, they will be taken to the local county jail where they will be booked. The booking process in Iowa consists of:
Bail may be set if the courts are open. If not, the suspect will remain in jail until the bail can be set and paid, or their initial hearing takes place.
The crime rate has increased over the past decade in Iowa, going from 5,946 crimes in 2006 to 7,132 by 1% higher than it was back in 2006. The largest percentage of violent crimes falls into the Aggravated Assault category, with Revised Rape being the least popular crime in the state.
IA defines an arrest as “arrest is the taking of a person into custody when and in the manner authorized by law, including restraint of the person or the person’s submission to custody.” Only peace officers can arrest someone pursuant to a warrant. Peace officers can arrest someone when they witness a public offense being committed. If they are aware of a public crime that has been committed and has good reason to believe they know who did it, they can arrest you then too. They can also arrest someone in pursuit of an offense being committed after it has been reported to them through law enforcement channels.
Only peace officers can arrest someone pursuant to a warrant. In the state of IA, in relation to a crime being witnessed or an ongoing investigation, federal law enforcement agents can arrest someone, peace officers and out-of-state officers in some instances can also arrest. Any private citizen can arrest a person in IA for a public offense that they witness. Also, when a felony has been committed, and they are aware who did it, a private citizen can arrest someone then too.
Iowa arrest records will stay on a person’s criminal history forever if they do not petition the court for sealing or expungement. Most juvenile records can be sealed and kept private, but adult convictions will stay on there for life. If the person was arrested but not convicted or found not guilty, they could apply after 180 days to have their records expunged. Additionally, some alcohol-related convictions can be expunged. Unfortunately, all other convictions will remain.
Yes, in some cases people can have their records expunged. Expungement is not easy in IA, and only applies to arrests that were found not guilty or not charged with a crime. Only certain alcohol-rate offenses can be expunged.
For the last year tallied (2016), IA had 99,475 arrests. Of that total, 12,898 of them were crimes against people and 17,578 were property-related crimes. Additionally, 14,311 were crimes against society and the remainder of 54,688 were group B offenses.
Most of the violent crime offenders in Iowa were 20-29 and the largest percentage of violent crime victims were 20-29.
Unknown | 3.4% | |
0-9 | 0.2% | |
10-19 | 19.5% | |
20-29 | 32.8% | |
30-39 | 22.9% | |
40-49 | 12.2% | |
50-59 | 6.6% | |
60-69 | 1.8% | |
70-79 | 0.3% | |
80-89 | 0.1% | |
90-99 | 0.0% | |
Offenders w/ reported age | 7,980 |
0-9 | 3.6% | |
10-19 | 20.0% | |
20-29 | 30.9% | |
30-39 | 21.6% | |
40-49 | 12.7% | |
50-59 | 7.7% | |
60-69 | 2.6% | |
70-79 | 0.6% | |
80-89 | 0.2% | |
90-99 | 0.1% | |
Victims w/ reported age | 8,841 |
Residence Home is the place where the majority of crimes in Iowa were committed, in most of the crime cases the offender was an acquaintance.
Residence Home | 5,091 | |
Highway/Alley/Street/Sidewalk | 1,617 | |
Parking Garage/Lot | 414 | |
Convenience Store | 298 | |
Bar/Nightclub | 239 | |
Unknown | 230 | |
School/College | 212 | |
Field/Woods | 189 | |
Hotel/Motel | 132 | |
Restaurant | 123 |
Acquaintance | 1,632 | |
Boyfriend/Girlfriend | 1,576 | |
Stranger | 1,475 | |
Otherwise Known | 1,011 | |
Relationship Unknown | 991 | |
Spouse | 537 | |
Friend | 273 | |
Parent | 232 | |
Child | 226 | |
Sibling | 185 |
The popular arrests for 2017 in Iowa was for All Other Offenses (except traffic) - 32,872, the same popularity of the arrest type was seen in Alabama, Alaska, and Arizona. The least popularity had Prostitution and Commercialized Vice arrests - with only 47 crimes a year.
Arrest Type | Under 18 | All ages | Total arrests |
---|---|---|---|
Violent Crime | 445 | 4,709 | 5,154 |
Property Crime | 2,607 | 12,280 | 14,887 |
Murder & Non-negligent Manslaughter | 3 | 53 | 56 |
Rape | 41 | 192 | 233 |
Robbery | 94 | 341 | 435 |