Natchitoches Parish Arrest Records

Natchitoches Parish arrest records are created when law enforcement officers take people into custody based on probable cause, arrest warrants, indictments, or another legal authority.

Arrested individuals are typically booked after their apprehension. During this process, arresting agencies collect each suspect's information and document the alleged offense(s). This data is then entered into local, state, and sometimes national law enforcement databases to enable accurate recordkeeping and facilitate relevant criminal justice procedures.

Law enforcement agencies, defense lawyers, the media, and the general public rely on arrest records for different purposes, including:

• Background checks on people being considered for open positions
• Criminal defense and prosecution
• Researching neighborhood crime rates
• Arrest record expungements

Individuals can obtain Natchitoches arrest records by approaching a local arresting agency or the facility where the accused is being held. People can also search Natchitoches Parish court records for available arrest information about a defendant.

Are Arrest Records Public in Natchitoches Parish?

Yes. Law enforcement agencies are legally obligated to release arrest information to members of the public, per the Louisiana Public Records Act. The Act establishes that records created by publicly funded government bodies, which include police agencies, are open to requesters. Be that as it may, some arrest information is considered confidential and protected from public access. These records include the following:

• Juvenile arrest records
• Personal identification numbers like passport and driver's license digits
• Medical records
• Sealed court records
• Arrest information that may be part of active police investigations
• Records that may expose protected witnesses and victims

While law enforcement agencies can deny access to certain records, Louisiana law instructs record custodians to explain the statutory reasons for denying access.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

These arrest details are releasable to members of the public in Natchitoches Parish:

• Arrested individual's name, physical description, photograph, and age
• Alleged offense(s)
• Booking date
• Time spent in jail
• Release information

Natchitoches Parish Arrest Statistics

According to statistics extracted from the FBI's Crime Data Explorer, the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office made 420 arrests in 2023. The top three Sheriff's arrests were for driving under the influence, drug/narcotic offenses, and aggravated assault. Driving under the influence necessitated 72 apprehensions, drug/narcotic violations accounted for 66 arrests, and 55 arrests were attributed to aggravated assault.

Find Natchitoches Parish Arrest Records

Individuals who intend to obtain arrest records can visit the local law enforcement agency that initiated the arrest. The local police department is usually the best place to start if the defendant was recently arrested. For example, arrests within the City of Natchitoches are likely handled by the city's police department. One can visit or contact the agency for information.

The next agency to contact is the Sheriff's Office. This office runs the parish jail, where arrestees from all over the parish are confined pending their court appearance. For inquiries about inmates, one can use resources provided on the Sheriff's website. People can also use the Office's Background Checks service, which costs $15 for the first two pages and $3 per additional page, to obtain information about arrests within the parish.

Additionally, one can approach the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections to find details about individuals convicted for breaking state law in Natchitoches Parish. Contacting the agency can only yield the location of an inmate, their incarceration records, and the offenses for which they were convicted. Note that the conviction offense will sometimes differ from the arrest allegations where the prosecutor filed different charges.

Federal agencies can also arrest people within Natchitoches Parish in connection to federal crimes. These offenses could be tied to drug violations, immigration crimes, or weapons infractions. Finding arrest records in these cases involves contacting the arresting agency.

Sometimes, a federal agency may provide online options for locating arrestees. For example, one can use the Online Detainee Locator System operated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to find people taken into custody for immigration crimes. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons' Federal Inmate Search tool can also be used to locate individuals detained in federal prison.

Free Arrest Record Search in Natchitoches Parish

Some online databases provided by government agencies for finding information about arrested persons are free to use. They include ICE's ODLS, the BOP's Federal Inmate Search system, and the Louisiana Department of Corrections Inmate Locator. However, obtaining physical copies of arrest documents under the Louisiana Public Records Act comes at a cost. Requesters are usually records to cover the cost of reproducing, certifying, and mailing such records.

People who want to retrieve records faster can use independent vendors that collate public records and publish them online. These vendors are private businesses that collate public records in bulk and sell them to customers. As such, intending customers are usually notified that the accuracy of retrieved records cannot be guaranteed. Notably, some third-party aggregators provide free arrest information from different law enforcement agencies.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Indefinitely. A person's arrest remains on their criminal history until a court issues an expungement order to prevent public access. However, such orders can only be released if the defendant meets the legal requirements for an expungement. Otherwise, their records will remain accessible to members of the public forever.

Expunge Natchitoches Parish Arrest Records

Arrest and criminal records expungement in Louisiana is a process that involves submitting a motion to a court to seal one's public records. Once the motion is granted, record custodians will be prohibited from releasing the expunged information to the public. However, expunged records are not permanently deleted and can be accessed by the following parties:

• Law enforcement agencies for criminal investigations, prosecutions, and other criminal justice matters
• Courts
• Subjects of the expunged records and their legal representatives
• State and private entities outlined in CCRP 973

Individuals who are eligible to submit expungement petitions include the following:

• Former arrestees whose cases did not end in a conviction per CCRP 976
• People who were wrongfully convicted
• Individuals who were convicted of certain misdemeanors and meet the requirements outlined in CCRP 977
• Persons who were convicted of felonies, have completed their sentences, and meet the conditions in CCRP 978

Eligible petitioners are required to complete the Motion for Expungement form provided in CCRP 989 and submit it to the court that handled the case. Once filed, the clerk of the court will serve the motion to the Natchitoches Parish district attorney, the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, and the arresting law enforcement agency. These respondents can file objections to the motion if they have any, and a contradictory hearing will be set.

Natchitoches Parish Arrest Warrants

Arrest warrants are judicial orders issued by magistrates per CCRP 202 to apprehend and restrain individuals accused of breaking the law. These orders are only granted after law enforcement officers submit complaints orally or in writing under oath, specifying the alleged commission of a crime to the best of their knowledge.

However, magistrates can also issue arrest warrants to capture individuals who violated their court orders, such as not honoring court appointments. These warrants are called bench warrants.

Natchitoches Parish arrest warrants generally contain the following information:

• Parish of issuance
• Date of issuance
• The name of the accused individual or their physical description
• The alleged offense
• Signature of the issuing magistrate

Individuals who want to confirm the existence of an arrest warrant can contact the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office or the issuing court.

Do Natchitoches Parish Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Arrest warrants are active until subjects turn themselves in or are taken into custody by law enforcement. However, judges can recall these orders upon finding an error or mistake.