Public Records Accuracy and Presumption of Innocence Notice

Public records are not always complete

Public jail, inmate and arrest records may be incomplete, delayed, removed, sealed, corrected or restricted by law. They may show only part of the story. A roster may display a charge description but not the final court outcome. A court case may display filings but not current custody. A state corrections record may not show a county jail booking. A released person may remain visible for a limited time, or may disappear quickly from a roster.

Because of these limitations, our content should be treated as a guide to official sources, not as a final factual determination about any person.

Presumption of innocence

Every person accused of a crime has legal rights. A charge, booking, mugshot, warrant, bond listing or inmate search result does not prove that a person committed a crime. Charges can be dismissed, reduced, amended or resolved in many ways. Some records may involve mistaken identity, data entry errors, old cases, holds for another jurisdiction or administrative processing.

Responsible use of information

• Do not contact or harass people based on public-record information.
• Do not publish harmful claims without official verification and legal context.
• Do not assume that a person found in a jail search is currently guilty, unsafe or convicted.
• Do not use our content to make screening or eligibility decisions.
• Do not rely on a single roster entry for court, bond, release or legal decisions.

When records appear wrong

If the official record appears wrong, contact the record holder: the jail, sheriff, court, state corrections agency or federal agency. If our page repeats or links to a confusing source in a way that could mislead users, contact us with details and official documentation so we can review our page.