Rowan County Arrest Records

Rowan County arrest records are official documents detailing the circumstances surrounding a person’s arrest and charges. Law enforcement officers or peacekeepers in the county create them when they apprehend a person actively caught or under suspicion of committing a crime. Arrest records are contained in the more comprehensive criminal records and are managed by different law enforcement agencies within the judicial system.

When a Rowan County law enforcement officer arrests a person with or without a warrant, the arrestee is taken into custody and booked into the county jail database. The information collected during the booking process constitutes the arrest record. This information includes the arrestee's personal information, biodata, mugshot, details of the alleged crime, and details and description of the arrest incident.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office is the primary custodian who generates, maintains, and disseminates arrest records for arrests within their jurisdiction. Local police departments within the county also generate arrest records and can be contacted to obtain records of arrests they handled. For arrests that go to trial, the arrest records form part of the individual’s criminal records, so the collective criminal history can be obtained from the local courthouse along with other Rowan County court records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Rowan County?

Yes. Arrest records are considered public records in Rowan County and North Carolina generally, so they are available to the public. Per the North Carolina Public Records law (Chapter 132), record custodians of arrest records are to make all government records publicly available for inspection and copying unless the record is otherwise restricted by law.

The Public Records law also specifies confidential information that is to be exempt from unauthorized public disclosure to protect privacy and the interests of the parties involved. These records include trade secrets, passwords, signatures, social security numbers, records redacted or expunged by court order, records of ongoing investigations, and personal identifying information of witnesses or victims. To be authorized to access a legally exempt record, individuals may need to get a court order and present it to the record’s custodian.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Public arrest records in Rowan County typically contain the following information:

• Name of the arrested person
• Personal information of the arrestee (date of birth, gender and race)
• Arrest information (date and time of arrest, location of arrest, arresting officer, and arresting agency)
• Description of charges filed and their corresponding statutes or codes
• Booking information (Booking time, date and number)
• Mugshot
• Court information
• Bail or bond information

Rowan County Crime Rate

According to the 2022 Index Offences provided by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCBI), the most popular crimes in Rowan County are property crimes (2405 offenses), larceny (1715 offenses), violent crimes (527 offenses), and aggravated assault (438 offenses). Compared to the previous year’s record, property crime decreased (previously 2,544 offenses), larceny decreased (previously 1873 offenses), violent crimes increased (previously 511 offenses) and aggravated assault increased (previously 408 offenses)

Rowan County Arrest Statistics

According to the 2022 Summary Based Report by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI), a total of 3998 arrests were made in Rowan County. The most popular arrestable offenses included “all other offenses” with 2150 arrests, larceny with 335 arrests, non-aggravated assault with 262 arrests, and aggravated assault with 160 arrests. Compared to the 2021 Summary Based Report, there was a decrease in all popular crimes, including “all other offenses” (previously 2,378 arrests), larceny (previously 479 arrests), non-aggravated assault (previously 294 arrests), and aggravated assault (previously 182 arrests).

Find Rowan County Arrest Records

Interested individuals can look up information on inmates using the P2C (Police to Citizen) website that the Sheriff's Office maintains. The inmate inquiry feature indicates arrest records like the inmate’s name, primary charge, arrest charge, and booking agency. There is also a filter option for the displayed list for more precise results. The recent arrest feature lists basic arrest records of individuals recently arrested, such as their name, sex, charge, age, and race.

As they are the official custodian of the county’s arrest records, interested individuals can also find Rowan County Arrest records by contacting the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. They also make certified copies of incidence reports available upon request. The Rowan County Sheriff's Office contact information is as follows:

Rowan County Sheriff’s Office
232 N Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: (704) 216-8700

Police departments within the county, such as the Salisbury Police Department, also provide arrest records to interested parties for arrests that occur within their city. These records can be online through their own P2C (Police to Citizen) website or in person at their office address. They can be contacted at the address below:

Salisbury Police Department
130 E Liberty Street,
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: (704) 638-5333

For state-level arrests, federal resources for obtaining arrest records online include the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmate locator and Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER).

Free Arrest Record Search in Rowan County

Interested parties can conduct a free arrest record search in Rowan County using the P2C (Police to Citizen) website of either the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office or the Salisbury Police Department, depending on who has jurisdiction over the arrest. These custodians can also be contacted by phone or in-person to make an arrest record request for free, but fees may apply to get a certified copy of an incident report.

Third-party websites and databases can also be used to conduct online record searches for free. These websites are non-government-owned and work by providing a consolidated pool of records from all law enforcement agencies in Rowan County. Searches can be conducted using first name, last name, and city. It is important to note that as they are not the official record custodians, records obtained from third-party resources may not be as up-to-date or complete as records from the official custodian.

Get Rowan County Criminal Records

A criminal record is an official document that details an individual’s arrests, prosecutions, and all other interactions with their criminal justice system. They are also called criminal histories in Rowan County. Criminal records typically contain details of the personal information of the arrested individual, mugshot, fingerprint, description of arrest, charge, warrants, court proceedings, convictions, and sentencing information. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) maintains county and state-wide criminal records in North Carolina.

To request a record from the NCSBI, individuals can use their criminal background check service either for themselves, for others, or for employees (as an employer). To make a request, interested individuals complete and submit a Right to Review form along with a fingerprint card, and then payment of the $14 processing fee applicable needs to be made. This service is a computerized fingerprint-based search and submissions should be made by US mail only. The contact address for mail-in requests or further information from the NSBI on criminal history information is as follows:

NC State Bureau of Investigation
Attention: Applicant Unit-Right to Review
Criminal Information and Identification Section
P.O. Box 29500
Raleigh, NC 27626-0500
Phone: (919) 582-8600
Email: ciishelp@ncsbi.gov

Criminal records are also part of Rowan County Court records so that individuals can obtain criminal records from the Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court. A person can contact the Clerk’s office by phone or mail or visit the courthouse to use the self-service terminals available to conduct a lookup or get help from the administrative staff. Requesters are required to complete a Criminal Records Search Request form ( Form AOC-CR-314) and submit it to the Clerk’s Office in person or by mail. Uncertified copies are free while it costs $25 for a certified copy. The contact address for the Clerk’s Office is as follows:

Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court
210 N Main Street,
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: (704) 797-3001

Rowan County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

A Rowan County arrest record is written or electronic documentation of all occasions a person was taken into custody by law enforcement officers suspected of committing a crime. While arrest records include personal information and biodata of the arrestee, details of the arrest, and the charge, they do not contain conviction records. Arrest records are also created, maintained, and disseminated by the arresting law enforcement agency.

Criminal records, on the other hand, are comprehensive documents of a person’s entire criminal history and all their interactions with the judicial system. They contain details of all arrests, documents created as each case passed through the court, and sentencing information or judgment for each case. Criminal records are maintained by the Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI).

Concerning a person’s legal history, the major distinction between a criminal record and an arrest record is that criminal records can be used as a determinant of guilt since they record the complete interaction between the arrestee and the criminal justice system, while arrest records can not. Arrest records do not indicate guilt but simply record that a person was taken into custody by law enforcement officers.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Indefinitely. In Rowan County and other parts of North Carolina, a charge will stay on a person's record until they petition a court with jurisdiction over the case to have the record expunged, sealed, or restricted from unauthorized public access. Until these charges are removed from the person’s record, they remain public and can be accessed during background checks or criminal history searches, especially by parties like employers. In North Carolina, employers are, however, restricted from accessing criminal histories beyond seven years of occurrence.

Expunge Rowan County Arrest Records

Expunction or expungement is the legal removal or a charge from a person’s criminal history. In North Carolina, all expunged records are destroyed unlike some states in the United States where the record is only sealed. This means that once a record is expunged, the individual is legally restored to the status they occupied before committing the crime and can deny that the incident occurred without committing perjury or giving a false statement.

Per the North Carolina General Statutes §15A-151, some agencies are exempted from expunction requirements meaning that they can still have access to expunged records under certain circumstances. These agencies include the following:

• Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
• State and Local Law Enforcement (for employment purposes)
• North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission (for certification purposes)
• North Carolina Sheriffs Education and Training Standards Commission (for certification purposes)
• District Attorneys
• Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)

Not all crimes are eligible for expungement in North Carolina, eligibility depends on the charge, when it was received, and its disposition. Before checking for eligibility, individuals who want to have their records expunged should ensure that they have met the following conditions:

• They have completed the required waiting period for the record they want to expunge,
• They have no outstanding court-ordered payments
• They are not on parole or probation
• They have no outstanding warrants or summons
• They have no open cases or pending criminal charges

To be eligible for expunction in North Carolina, the crime should fit one of the following criteria:

• The charge was dismissed, disposed or had a “not guilty” verdict
• The charge was as a result of being a victim of human trafficking
• It is a first-time conviction of certain expungeable offenses and was committed between the ages of 18 and 22
• It is a non-violent felony or misdemeanor conviction

The process for getting a record expunged in Rowan County is as follows:

• Verify that the offense is eligible for expunction.
• Obtain a copy of the criminal record from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) or the Rowan County Clerk of Court.
• Complete a petition form for the specific crime to be expunged.
• Gather supporting documents such as affidavits of good character and proof of payment of court costs (if applicable to the case)
• Submit the application and documents to the clerk of court’s office and send a copy to the District Attorney’s office.
• Wait for the petition to be reviewed and attend the hearing set by the court if required.

Rowan County Arrest Warrants

Rowan County Arrest warrants are legal documents issued by a judge or court that authorize the arrest or detainment of a named individual by law enforcement officers. The North Carolina Statutes Chapter 15A, Article 11 governs the issuance and execution of warrants in Rowan County and other parts of North Carolina. In Rowan County, arrest warrants are typically issued for the following reasons:

• Probable Cause is established: When a law enforcement officer presents evidence before a judge, if the judge believes that probable cause that the individual committed the crime is established, an arrest warrant is issued on the named individual.
• Failure to appear in court: When summoned, if an individual does not appear in court as required, an arrest warrant may be issued in their name.
• Probation Violation: If an individual violates the terms under which they were released on probation from prison, an arrest warrant may be issued in their name.

To obtain an arrest warrant, a law enforcement officer begins an investigation and then submits an affidavit containing the evidence and reason for the warrant before a judge. The judge reviews the evidence and determines that there is sufficient probable cause, then the arrest warrant is issued. An arrest warrant typically contains the following information:

• Name of the individual to be arrested
• Description of the alleged crime
• Date and time of arrest issuance
• The signature of the issuing authority of the warrant
• The jurisdiction of the warrant

Rowan County Arrest Warrant Search

Interested individuals can conduct a Rowan County arrest warrant search by contacting the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, which is the custodian for these records. The Sheriff's office makes warrant information available online through the “active warrants” section of its P2C (Police to Citizen) website, by phone, and in person at their office. The active warrants page of the website displays a wanted list indicating the name, charge, and warrant type. To conduct an in-person arrest warrant search, the individual has to provide identification and relevant information about the record they are inquiring about. The contact address for the Sheriff's Office is as follows:

Rowan County Sheriff’s Office
232 N Main St, Salisbury,
NC 28144
Phone: (704) 216-8700
Fax: (704) 216-8674

Do Rowan County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. In Rowan County, arrest warrants do not expire. When issued, arrest warrants stay active indefinitely until they are executed (the person named on the warrant is arrested), the named individual dies, or the court dismisses the warrant. If the person named on the warrant appears in court voluntarily, the warrant may also be cleared. Although arrest warrants do not have a statute of limitations, their execution can be affected by certain factors. Factors that can affect the execution of a warrant include the warrant’s jurisdiction, the charge for which the warrant was issued being dismissed, and the warrant being quashed or dismissed by a judge.