Free Cuyahoga County Mugshot Search: View Offenders’ Photos

Conduct a free Cuyahoga County mugshot search instantly to view individuals charged with a crime and encourage vigilance to surrender themselves.

Mugshots or booking photos are made available for public access in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code: Section 149.43. With this act, residents are given the right to view and obtain a copy of arrest related documents —including mugshots— from the specific law enforcement agency relevant to the arrests.

With this resource, curious individuals will be empowered with knowledge of the official custodians (city, state and federal levels), which steps to follow and restrictions that may limit the access to these records.

Finding Mugshots at No Cost

Mugshots can often be found from the specific law enforcement agency who apprehended the person and from the facility this person is held in, but record seekers must be aware of which agency to reach and databases to search in order to access mugshots of a person arrested and confined in jail.

In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, these photos can be found included in arrest documents, which are kept and shared to the public by the county sheriff’s office –if the arrest was made by this agency – and are available upon request.¹ Records can also be obtained from the jail directly, if the person is confined within the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center.²

However, in some cases mugshots of the arrestee aren’t available from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office; this happens if the arrests are recently made. For this instance, reaching out to the city law enforcement agency —the relevant police department and its jail— is the alternative option.

Furthermore, if the above search option fails, extending the search to the state and federal level can also be a good substitute; at the state-level: Ohio Department of Corrections, and federal level: Bureau of Prisons.

The below sections provide easy-to-follow guidelines for accessing mugshots at all levels.

How To Perform a County-Level Mugshot Search

If you’re curious about searching for mugshots, it’s important to have specific information about the offender you’re looking for — like important arrest data, including the person’s name, the location where the offender is currently detained and offense charged.

Unlike other counties in Ohio, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) does not host an online jail roster that you can check when looking up police photographs. For this reason, accessing Cuyahoga County mugshots requires reaching out directly to the county’s record library, which is the CCSO’s Records Division and request for arrest records.

It is advisable to contact the CCSO before sending your request at 216.443.6100 to ensure that the person’s record is available in the office, as there might be some restrictions. Records are restricted for public access if the offender in question is a juvenile or the specific record is subject in an ongoing investigation.

In addition, records are also available from the facility where the offender is confined. Arrested individuals can be detained in one of the Cuyahoga County Correctional Facilities. If the person is held in Cuyahoga County Correctional Center (CCCC) – Main Jail, you can find the facility at the address provided below.

Cuyahoga County Corrections Center
1215 W 3rd St
Cleveland, OH 44113

If unsure of the inmate’s location, you can call the booking desk at 216.698.4820, 216.515.8348 or 216.698.6430.³ Booking-related inquiries can also be made using the mentioned contact numbers.

Furthermore, to make the public aware of the potential threat, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office provides a Sex Offender Registry, which is accessible for free. If you want to search for a sex offender near your area, simply provide the information required. You can either search by area, by name, or by phone number.

You can also utilize third party vendors, like VINELink, this platform can be useful for searching offender’s information, but note that mugshots aren’t included in the search.

Inmate Services Offered to Those in Cuyahoga County Correctional Facilities

If you’re worried about the safety of your loved ones incarcerated in jail, there’s no need to be. The Cuyahoga County Correctional Facilities provide inmate services allowing families, friends and legal professionals to stay connected and keep updated of each inmate’s status in jail.⁵

You can post bail, send money or commissary, contact through phone or via mail, and if you desire to see them in person, you can even visit the facility where they’re held.

Provided below are outlines and brief overviews of these services.

Posting Bail or Bonds: To simplify the process, the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts offers Online Bond Posting, allowing you to get your loved ones out without visiting the jail.⁶ If curious of how it is made, you can visit the Cuyahoga Clerk of Courts Online Posting Guidelines.

Alternatively, you can still post bond in person or through a bail bond company; to do so seamlessly, refer to the Cleveland Municipal Court Bond Information page.

Contacting Inmates by Phone or via Mail: To stay in touch with an inmate, start by setting up an Advance Connect account through Securus Technologies to receive their calls. Inmates cannot receive incoming calls or messages but can make outgoing calls using a prepaid calling card purchased from the commissary.

While, to send personal mail to an inmate at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, you have to address it at the Securus Digital Mail Center, where it will be scanned for digital viewing. While legal mail must be sent directly to the Correctional Facility.

Depositing Inmate Funds for Commissary: To send funds to an individual incarcerated in jail, you have two options: send it through Access Correction or personally going in person to:

Cuyahoga County Justice Center
1 fl., 1215 W. 3rd St.
Cleveland, OH 44113

Phone: 216.698.6244⁸

Inmate Visitation: To visit inmates at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, you can use Securus Video Connect for on-site or remote video visits.⁹ On-site visits are free and held Monday through Friday, while remote visits cost $4 for 25 minutes and offer flexible hours, including weekends. Visitors must register through the Securus Mobile App or online before scheduling a visit.

Guide To Finding Mugshots in Cities Across Cuyahoga County OH

If it so happens that the county records aren’t up to date, you may be able to access arrest mugshots from the relevant police department who made the arrest. City police departments in Cuyahoga County temporarily held recently arrested offenders in the city jail before they are moved to the county correctional facilities.

Most city agencies in the county provide an online request page to view police records, while some require contacting or visiting the relevant agency in person.

To give you an insight on how requests are made, here are some of the major cities in Cuyahoga County, along with the ways on accessing police reports, including mugshots:

Cleveland Police Department: If the arrest occurred within the City of Cleveland, you may be able to access arrestees’ mugshot by requesting a police report from the city police department. For public records inquiry, call 216.623.5352. You can also submit a public safety record request online (where corrections records, including mugshot is included) through the Cleveland Public Records Center.

Alternatively, you can also visit the Cleveland Police Department Headquarters or one of its district offices.¹⁰

Cleveland Police Department
Headquarters
1300 Ontario St.
Cleveland, Ohio 44112

Brooklyn Police Department: To obtain a copy of police reports from the Brooklyn Police Department, you can submit your request via email to the city police clerk ([email protected]).¹¹

You can also visit the agency directly at

Brooklyn Police Department
8000 Memphis Ave.
Brooklyn, OH 44144

Westlake Police Department: The Westlake Police Department offers an online Police Report Search page, allowing residents to obtain recent police reports online.

You can also submit your request via email at [email protected], or by visiting their office Monday through Friday, between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM.

Westlake Police Department
27300 Hilliard Boulevard
Westlake, OH 44145

Phone: 440.871.3311
Fax: 440.835.6444

Residents can also find mugshots of those incarcerated in the state prisons, which can be done by utilizing the online resource hosted by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections (ODRC). Finally, records of those in federal prison are accessible from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The process for these will be explained in the following section.

Accessing Prisoners’ Mugshots: State & Federal Level

Mugshots are typically taken by the arresting agency during the booking process, and also applied to those transferred in the state prisons.

Unlike the city and county-level custodians, the Ohio Department of Corrections (ODRC) allows searchers to view mugshots of prisoners online through the Statewide Offender Locator.¹³

A basic search requires the offender’s name, but if you want more accurate results, you can add more filters, like the offender’s county of commitment, residential county, zip code, and status. It also has sort options: sort by name, number or status.

Individual mugshots can be viewed, along with information such as prisoners’ full name, DOC number, date of birth, status and offenses.

If you have questions regarding the information obtained, send it to the ODRC Central Records Division via US mail.

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
Attn: Central Records
4545 Fisher Road, Ste. D.
Columbus, OH 43228

For prisoners under the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) their records can be searched via the Inmate Locator, however, different from the state resource, photos aren’t included in the online results. For this reason, you will need to visit the BOP office directly.

Additionally, you might also be concerned about your safety, you can use the Ohio Attorney General’s Offender Search Tool to locate registered sex offenders in your area.

Overall, criminal records, including mugshots are accessible by anyone in the county, in connection with the Ohio Revised Code, Section 149.43.¹⁵ These records must not be used to harass, intimidate, or for unauthorized professional purposes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines.

Refer to the instructions provided in this article and comply with the relevant laws for a successful Cuyahoga County mugshot search.