Search Texas Public Records

How to Look Up Criminal Records in Texas

The state of TX maintains a central repository for all criminal records including arrests, charges, convictions and incarcerations all in one place. Upon request, they offer copies of someone’s criminal history to the general public. Anyone can search the system using someone’s name only. They do not provide public access to fingerprint record searches. The requestor may have to set up an account and pay fees when they order records. All law enforcement agencies feed into the database with their daily records.

Victims & Offenders by Gender and Race

What Information Does Arrest Records Texas Report Include?

A Texas arrest report will provide basic details about the person like Texas mugshots, fingerprints, name, email, phone, address, gender, race, age, date of birth, height, weight, and other physical descriptors. It will also include details about each arrest including date of arrest, arresting officer’s name, arresting agency, the location of the arrest, bail or bond posted, pleas, dispositions, jail time and all other details about the charge and conviction. If any vehicles were involved, that information will also be on there.

Texas Police Report and Mugshots

Are Texas Police Reports Public Record?

Yes, police reports are public records in Texas. Some large cities like Austin have set up an APD Incident Reports Database to make it easy for the general public to obtain copies. They archive data going back 18 months. The system is easy to use and will provide most of the information you would need. Other options are to contact the police department directly for paper copies. Most police departments have specific hours during the week when you can visit to request or pick up copies of police reports.

Some of the information contained in these police reports is:

• Date, time, and location of the offense.
• Type of incident.
• Officer who responded to the incident.
• Any victims and their gender and race.
• A detailed description of the events.

Additionally, the Texas Department of Transportation offers up Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Reports (CR–3) for a small fee.

Mugshots Texas

Texas mugshots are also public records and easily found online. In fact, there are county websites which list recently arrested individuals and show their mugshots along with tons of other details about their crime and personal demographics. There is no standard for Texas mugshots. Many of them are taken on gray lined backgrounds with a ruler to show height, and others are photographed against plain colored walls.

In the 1800s, French policeman, Alphonse Bertillon perfected today’s mugshot and started using them on wanted posters and as part of the booking process. Other countries like the U.S. quickly followed suit. Bertillon played around with lighting, angles, and colors until he decided upon a composite shot with a front-facing view and a side angle (profile). Mugshots are extremely helpful to investigators when trying to identify suspects or criminals with witnesses and victims.

Texas Arrest Booking Process

When someone is arrested in Texas, after being read their Miranda rights and handcuffed, they are taken to the local county jail or detention center for booking and a holding cell to await their hearing. The booking process in Texas can take up to 12 hours. It is a lengthy process consisting of a few different pieces.

• The suspect is searched for drugs, weapons, and other items.
• Police take down basic information from them like name, address, phone, and birthdate.
• The officers will also perform a full background check on them looking for outstanding arrests.
• The person will be fingerprinted, and mugshots will be taken.
• Law enforcement will take all the person’s personal possessions and inventory and hold them for them.
• The suspect may have to provide a DNA sample via a cheek swab.
• They may also be subject to a health screening or full body search.

The person will remain in a holding cell until they make bail or see the judge at their hearing.

Violent Crime Rates for the last 10 years

The crime rate has decreased over the past decade in Texas, going from 100,774 crimes in 2006 to 98,102 by 21% lower 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.

Arrest Law

A TX police officer can arrest someone with a valid warrant any time of day or night. They can also arrest someone when they commit an offense in their presence. This applies to felonies or misdemeanors that disturb the public peace. A police officer can also arrest someone who is a suspect in a crime that has been committed. Police may even apprehend someone who they have probable cause to believe may harm someone or has injured someone including domestic and child abuse.

The Arrest Rate in Texas

For 2017, 759,550 arrests were recorded for the year. Of those 572,395 were committed by men, and 187,155 by women. Most of the crimes were committed by people age 25-34 years old. More than 65,000 were for assaults, 135,000 were for drug offenses, and more than 60,000 were for larceny-theft.

State Offender and Victim Age Group Statistics

Most of the violent crime offenders in Texas were 20-29 and the largest percentage of violent crime victims were 20-29.

Crime Victim Demographics

Residence Home is the place where the majority of crimes in Texas were committed, in most of the crime cases the offender was a relationship unknown.

Texas Arrest Records by Type of Crime

The popular arrests for 2017 in Texas was for All Other Offenses (except traffic) - 229,635, the same popularity of the arrest type was seen in Alabama, Alaska, and Arizona. The least popularity had Gambling arrests - with only 372 crimes a year.