Access Free Cuyahoga County Arrest Records (Lookup Resource)

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

Find free Cuyahoga County arrest records quickly and seamlessly.

Several agencies can be contacted for this public documentation, which is made available thanks to state and federal public record laws.

Utilize the guidance and links in this brief resource to contact relevant agencies or access databases to obtain public arrest records in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

How Do I Look Up Recent Cuyahoga County Arrest Records & Mugshots for Free?

Curious parties on the search for arrest records should start by visiting the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts. The Clerk of Courts is mainly in charge of all public records requests.

As per Ohio Public Records Law, any citizen is capable of requesting public records within the county. The citizen is not obliged to share their identity, nor are they obliged to provide any information for the records requested. However, the clerk of courts has also clarified that an explanation will be required if it helps simplify the search and makes it easier to locate the records.

In order to run a free arrest records search, citizens can use the Clerk of Courts’ online portal.1 In this search portal, curious individuals will be able to find the following information:

  • Civil / Domestic Cases
  • Criminal Records
    • Criminal Search by Name
    • Criminal Search by Case Number
  • Court of Appeals Search

In order to run an efficient search for court records, citizens should gather a list of information. Without having details on what they are looking for, individuals using the search portal will waste a lot of time looking for the documents that they need.

Some of the information that will help simplify the search is as follows:

  • Suspect’s Name
  • Suspect’s Age
  • Date of Arrest
  • Reason for Arrest
  • Case Number
  • Suspect’s Date of Birth
  • Suspect’s Gender
  • Defendant’s ID
  • Known Aliases
  • Defendant’s Race
A screenshot from the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts detailing a closed case with the case number, judge's name, status, and other non-applicable information, followed by defendant information including a different case number, the defendant's name, status, date of birth, race, sex, and related cases.
Source: Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts1

Citizens should note that any of the two points of information will be necessary to run a search on the Clerk of Courts’ online portal. It should also be noted that if copies are required, a $0.03 charge will be applicable per page if the copy is over 33 pages.

If individuals want to learn more about the public records requesting process, they can visit the clerk of courts in person with the help of the following details:

Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts
Justice Center
1200 Ontario Street, 1st Floor
Cleveland, OH 44113

Phone: (216) 443-7977
Email: [email protected]

Similarly, a free public records request can be made through the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department.2 The Sheriff is in charge of a Records Division, which can be visited for more details using this information:

Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department
Records Division
1215 West 3rd St.
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Phone: (216) 443-6000
General Email: [email protected]

A screenshot from the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, detailing fields for department, name, email, mailing address, phone number, delivery method, and a specific section to describe the documents being requested to ensure prompt service.
Source: Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department2

Citizens residing in Cleveland, Ohio, can also look for arrest records through the Municipal Court. The Municipal Court has an online search form that can be used as long as citizens can provide some of the basic information that has been listed above.3 The court can be contacted for more information with the following details:

Cleveland Municipal Clerk of Courts Office
Criminal / Traffic Division
Justice Center, Level 3, 1200 Ontario St.
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Phone: 216-664-4790
Fax: (216) 664-4299
Email: [email protected]
Working Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 11 PM,
Saturday – Sunday, 10 AM – 9 PM

A screenshot from the Cleveland Municipal Court detailing case numbers, defendant names, file dates, types, and party names, indicating no warrants and a total of seventeen cases associated with the search.
Source: Cleveland Municipal Court4

Similarly, Cleveland residents can also place a request for police documents using the public safety records online form. However, before using the form, citizens will have to create an account.

It is important to note that many agencies will also make use of third-party sources such as VINELink. Oftentimes, these are used to run statewide searches.

At times, citizens will not be able to find information on completed arrests. In these cases, the details mentioned in the next section can help searchers find what they are looking for.

How To Retrieve Information on Prior Criminal Activity & Arrests Made Within Cuyahoga County OH

In order to find prior information on arrests made within Cuyahoga County, searchers should start off by visiting those in charge of the jails — The Sheriff’s Department.5 More information on arrests can be made using the online public records request form.

If citizens are looking to have their problems solved in person, they can visit the sheriff with these details:

Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department
Records Division
1215 West 3rd St.
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Phone: (216) 443-6000
General Email: [email protected]
Working Hours: Monday – Friday, 7 AM – 4 PM

Cleveland residents looking for more information on prior arrests will have to make use of the Police Department’s divisions. It is important to note that the police department charges 5 cents per page for copies of records. Searchers can learn more about Cleveland’s public records policy through the police department’s documents.

In order to submit a request for arrest records, the police department runs an online portal that can be used for convenience. However, before the portal can be used, searchers should note that they will have to create an account.

Similarly, Cleveland residents can complete this process in person by visiting the police department. In order to do that, the following contact details can be used:

Cleveland Police Department
Records Division
1300 Ontario Street
Cleveland, OH 44113

Phone: 216-623-5352
Working Hours: Weekdays, 8 AM – 4 PM
Walk-In Service Available: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8 AM – 3:30 PM

Citizens looking for offenders can run a free state-wide search through Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections Department. The offender search online tool powered by this department provides a list of inmates who are currently incarcerated within Ohio prisons or those who have been judicially freed.6

The information required to run a search using this tool can be found below:

  • Name of Inmate
  • Inmate’s Status
  • County Where the Crime Was Committed
  • Residential County
  • Zip Code
  • Inmate Number
  • Date of Parole Hearing (If Applicable)
A screenshot from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction featuring a mugshot, identification number, date of birth, gender, race, admission date, institution, status, and details of the offense, such as the type of offense, sentence date, maximum years to serve, court docket number, and judge's name.
Source: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction6

In case individuals have more questions about what information to include, examples have been provided once the search tool is opened.

Similarly, if citizens have a question that isn’t answered through the records, they may reach out to the Department of Rehabilitation & Correction using the following information:

Ohio Department Of Rehabilitation & Correction
4545 Fisher Road, Suite D
Columbus, OH 43228

Phone: 614-387-0588
Working Hours: Monday – Friday 8 AM – 5 PM

Citizens looking to learn more about the bail process in Cuyahoga County can go through the following section for more information.

How To Post Bail & Utilize a Bail Bondsman in Cuyahoga County Ohio

Once citizens have found the arrest records that they are looking for, they can apply for bail, if applicable. If the bail amount cannot be paid by the suspect, then they should apply for a bail bond.

Bail bonds can be seen as an agreement between the court and the suspect. Within this agreement, the defendant agrees to pay 10% of the bail amount to the court. In return, the defendant is released as long as they show up on their assigned court dates.

If the defendant continues to appear in court, they will get the 10% back by the end of the court hearings. However, if the defendant fails to appear in court, they will be forced to pay the remaining 90% of the bail amount, and they will get none of their money back.

Similarly, the same process can be carried out with a third person involved. This third person is a bail bondsman. If the suspect is unable to fulfill the bail amount, they can hire another individual to pay the 10%.

Citizens should note that fees paid to the bondsman cannot be refunded. Furthermore, if the defendant does not come to court, they will also have to pay the bondsman for the losses incurred.

There are three different kinds of bail bonds that citizens will come across in Cuyahoga County:

  • Recognizance Bond / Personal Bond
  • Cash Bond
  • Surety Bond

A recognizance bond/ personal bond is made based on a contract between the court and the suspect. In this contract, the defendant promises to appear in court as per the court dates mentioned. Usually, this is the best-case scenario for the defendant.

However, this is mostly available to first-time suspects. With a personal bond, the suspect doesn’t have to pay anything to be freed. However, if the suspect does not show up in court, then a court order will be placed.

This will force the defendant to pay the full bond amount. They will also be liable to face additional charges.

A cash bond is the standard type available. With this bond, the suspect needs to pay 10% of the bail amount to be released.

A surety bond works a lot like a cash bond. The only difference is that this bond includes a bail bondsman.

The suspect pays the bondsman a premium, and in turn, the bondsman purchases the bond to free the suspect. Usually, this premium is set at 10% of the bail amount. In order to learn more about bail rules in Cuyahoga County, citizens can also refer to the legal rulebook document.

In order to pay for bail bonds through the Cuyahoga County Court, the defendant can use the online records portal. Here, they need to search for their court records, either by name or case number, and select the “Post Bond” option. The Court has also created a simple walkthrough guide that can be used to pay for bail bonds.

The bond system works very similarly in cities like Cleveland, too. However, residents will have to visit the Municipal Court in person to post a bail bond.7 In order to learn more about how bonds work, curious parties can use the following contact information to visit the relevant department:

Cleveland Municipal Clerk of Courts Office
Criminal & Traffic Division
Justice Center, Level 3, 1200 Ontario St.
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Phone: 216-664-4790
Fax: 216-664-4299
Email: [email protected]
Working Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 11 PM, Saturday – Sunday 10 AM – 9 PM

Cuyahoga County arrest records are freely available through many different agencies; this vital resource provides relevant info on how curious parties can streamline locating records on anyone in custody.

References

1Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts. (2024). Searches. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from <https://cpdocket.cp.cuyahogacounty.us/Search.aspx>

2Cuyahoga County. (n.d.). Public Records Request. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from <https://cuyahogacounty.gov/public-records-request>

3Cleveland Municipal Court. (n.d.). Notifications. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from <https://portal.cmcoh.org/cmcportal>

4Cleveland Municipal Court. (2024). Smart Search. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from <https://portal.cmcoh.org/CMCPORTAL/Home/Dashboard/29>

5Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department. (n.d.). Sheriff’s Department. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from <https://www.cuyahogacounty.gov/sheriff>

6Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. (2024). Offender Search. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from <https://appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch>

7Cleveland Municipal Court Clerk of Courts. (n.d.). Bond Information. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from <https://clevelandmunicipalcourt.org/clerk-of-courts/criminal-traffic-division/bond-information>