Find Free Riverside County Arrest Records & Custody Details

Free Riverside County Arrest Records Search
Access Riverside County Arrest Records: Recent jail records, prior arrests, mugshots, crimes committed, bail details, release date, probation information, police reports, court dates and more.

Track down free Riverside County arrest records today using this step-by-step resource.

While arrest records are public information that can be freely accessed by any and every citizen, being aware of where to start the search is vital for a successful and seamless lookup.

With this resource, searchers can access convenient online search tools needed to obtain arrest records in Riverside County, California.

How To Track Down Updated Riverside County Arrest Records, Inmate Rosters & Mugshots for Free

As per the California Public Records Act (CPRA), every citizen has the right to search for and access public records held in various governmental agencies.1 However, under certain circumstances, some records may be withheld from the public. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Juvenile Records
  • Records That may Threaten an Individual’s Safety

When trying to track down arrest records, the first place to head over to is the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The Riverside Sheriff oversees the jails present within the county. In order to look for arrest records through the sheriff, citizens can use the Inmate Locator tool.2

In order to use this tool efficiently, curious parties will need to have access to the following details:

  • Defendant’s First and Last Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Gender
A screenshot from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department detailing a list of individuals with their booking numbers, names, dates of birth, gender, and custody status.
Source: Riverside County Sheriff’s Department2

The more information that is provided by inquirers, the faster the search will be.

This tool holds all the records for the county jails and also has another version. The Search by Booking Date can be used to run searches if the citizens are unaware of the defendant’s name. However, to use this tool, they will need the following details:

  • Which Jail the Suspect is In
  • Booking Date

Similarly, curious parties can also put in an anonymous documents request through the Sheriff’s Public Records Request page.3 Through this form, citizens will be able to request for incident related reports by adding the following information:

  • Incident Number
  • Date of Event
  • Time of Event
  • Location
  • Date Range
  • Deputy Name
  • Involved Party’s First & Last Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Age Range
  • How Searchers Would Like to View Records
A screenshot from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department detailing an online service portal titled "Public Records Center," featuring a form for submitting various types of public record requests, such as body-worn camera footage and incident reports, with sections for incident details and location information.
Source: Riverside County Sheriff’s Department3

However, citizens should note that if they choose to put in an anonymous request, they will have to maintain their confirmation number themselves. If they end up losing the number, a new form will need to be submitted.

This problem can be overcome by simply creating an account on the page.

Citizens can also look through several public records which are directly uploaded onto the Sheriff’s official website. The records that can be found here are as follows:

  • Reports Regarding Discharge of a Firearm
  • Records Pertaining to Sexual Assault
  • Reports Regarding Misconduct
  • Nonimmigrant Status Reports
  • Incident Records Regarding Great Bodily Injury

Citizens can also continue their search for arrest records by contacting the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. In order to do so, curious parties can use the following details:

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
4095 Lemon St.
Riverside, CA 92501

Phone: 951-955-2440
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM

Residents of Riverside City can also request for police records through the City Police Department’s Records Bureau. An online Public Records Request can be placed once citizens create an account on the official page.

The Record Bureau is in charge of two different operational counters which can be visited in order to view public records. The department can be contacted via the following details:

Records Bureau Front Counter #1 – Orange Station
4102 Orange St.
Riverside, CA 92501

Phone: 951-826-7200
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM

Records Bureau Front Counter # 2 – Magnolia Station
10540 Magnolia Ave. Ste B
Riverside, CA 92505

Phone: 952-826-7200
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM

At times, some agencies will also use third-party sources such as VINELink which can be used to look for public records. Citizens should keep in mind that this service is paid.

Citizens looking to gain more information about criminal charges can use the next section to do so.

How To Gain Insight on Criminal Charges & Former Arrests Made in Riverside County California

One of the first places to turn to when searching for more details on criminal charges is the Riverside County Superior Court.

Through the superior court; searchers can request for criminal court records using the online Criminal & Traffic Public Access Portal.4

Through this portal, inquirers will be able to find the following records:

  • January 1990 to present – Riverside Felonies
  • January 1994 to present – Riverside Misdemeanors

Citizens should note that choosing to run a search using the “Name Search” option will be paid. The charges for using this option are as follows:

  • $1.00 per name search credit
  • $3.50 for 5 credits
  • $5.00 for 10 credits
  • $25.00 for 75 credits
  • $250/30 days for unlimited credits
A screenshot from the Riverside County Superior Court featuring a court's public access system for name searches, showing options to search for individuals or businesses and fields to enter a last name, first name, and middle name.
Source: Riverside County Superior Court5

Curious parties can also run free searches. However, they will have to know the case number regarding the record they are looking for. Moreover, for any citizen that is looking to order copies of the records, they should note that this is possible through the Online Copy Request form.

Each copy of the record will cost $1 for the first 5 pages, after which there will be a $0.5/page charge.

Similarly, citizens residing within the City of Riverside can also complete a Public Records Form through the Records Bureau. The Records Bureau has access to all police records and these can be accessed using the details mentioned in the previous section.

It is also possible for searchers to submit a Public Records Request for statewide arrest records through the California Department of Justice (DOJ). The information needed to submit the request is as follows:

  • Requestor’s Information
  • Description of Record Requested

Citizens can also obtain copies of records through mail by filling in a Public Records Request PDF and mailing it to the DOJ.6 In order to submit the request efficiently, the DOJ can be contacted via the following information:

California Department of Justice
Public Records Coordinator
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2500

Phone: (916) 210-6183
Facsimile: (916) 322-4532
E-mail: [email protected]
Working Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 4 PM

Once citizens have found the arrest records they are looking for, the next step is learning about the bail system. In order to do so, the following section will be helpful.

How To Pay Bail & Get a Loved One out of Jail in Riverside County

When an individual is arrested in Riverside County, a bail amount is set following the County’s Bail Schedule.7 In order to be released from jail temporarily until the end of all court hearings, citizens will have to pay the full bail amount that is set.

As long as the defendant continues to show up at the given court dates, the bail amount paid will be returned. However, if the suspect fails to appear they will be liable to face additional charges.

In Riverside County, suspects can apply for bail in three ways:

  • Cash Bail
  • Bail Bonds
  • Property Bonds

Posting cash bail is when a citizen pays the full bail that has been set by the judge. As long as the suspect continues to appear at the given court dates, the bail amount will be returned to whoever paid it. As per California Law, if the suspect does not appear in court they will not get their money back.8

Individuals can also post bail by getting a bail bond. This is a contractual agreement between the accused suspect and a bondsman. If the suspect finds it difficult to pay the bail price themselves the bondsman will pay it instead.

In turn the suspect will have to pay the bondsman a percentage of the actual sum.

This sum is generally 10% of the original cash amount set by the courts.

The final way to post bail in Riverside County is through property bonds. For property bonds, the defendant must give a belonging which amounts to the bail amount set. However, this can only be done after a professional valuation of the property.

The California Public Records Act allows anyone and everyone to look at Riverside County arrest records whenever they want; with the help of the tools in this resource, users can look for records conveniently.

References

1California Department of Justice. (n.d.). Summary of the California Public Records Act 2004. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://www.oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/publications/summary_public_records_act.pdf>

2Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. (2024). Search Inmate. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://jimspub.riversidesheriff.org/>

3Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. (n.d.). Public Records Center. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://riversidesheriff.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/(S(hgb52esz5cmlhqlvm1pt52hc))/RequestOpen.aspx?sSessionID=&rqst=1&anon=1>

4Riverside County Superior Court. (n.d.). Traffic / Criminal Main Menu. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/CriminalMainMenu.asp>

5Riverside County Superior Court. (2024). Name Search. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/SearchByName.asp>

6California Department of Justice. (2017, September). Public Records Request Form. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/contact/JUS8851.pdf?>

7Riverside County Superior Court. (n.d.). Fee and Bail Schedules. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/forms-filing/fee-and-bail-schedules>

8California Legislative Information. (n.d.). Miscellaneous Proceedings [1268 – 1424.5]. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from <https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=1305>