Look Up Free St. Louis County Arrest Records (Search Resource)

Review St. Louis County arrest records for free using the linked databases and search tools in this resource.

State and federal public record laws guarantee citizens access to this information, but knowing how to perform such a search is crucial for a hassle-free lookup.

This article clearly instructs interested parties on how to seamlessly obtain arrest records in St. Louis County, Missouri.

Find Current St. Louis County Arrest Records & View Mugshots at No Cost

As with every other state in the union, Missouri has its version of the Freedom of Information that allows citizens access to public government records.

Chapter 610 of the Revised Statutes of the State, also referred to as the Missouri Sunshine Law, allows all members of the public access to search and inspect any and all records generated by any state agency that has not been designated as on-public records due to some extenuating circumstance.¹ This includes arrest records for St. Louis County.

The objectives of law enforcement agencies at different jurisdictional levels vary in their scope of operations.

For example, uniformed beat cops who work for the municipal police departments and St. Louis County Police Officers are typically assigned to deal with lower-level crimes and traffic enforcement. These officers carry out arrests when warrants are issued in their local jurisdictions.

When Missouri State and US Government federal law enforcement agents are performing operations in St. Louis County that results in arrests, all arrestees are processed at the county jail facility, which is where the arrest record originates.

In the case of St. Louis County, some of the cities do have local police departments that operate jails. For those that do not, arrestees are booked at the County Detention Center which is operated by the St. Louis County Police Department.²

Once an arrest happens anywhere in the county and the booking process is done at the county jail, the police arrest record originates there.

If the law enforcement agency that made the arrest is not the St. Louis County Police Officers, that agency will also maintain a record of the police report, as will the county jail facility where the booking process and detention takes place. If the booking process is done at a local police department, an arrest record will reside there.

As long as the arrestee is in custody at the county or local jail facility, he or she may be searched online as part of the current inmate roster of the facility where the arrest record information can be obtained.

When the inmate leaves the county or local jail, and as the case winds its way through the judicial process, the arrest record becomes an integral part of the court case file. However, the initial police/arrest record will reside with the St. Louis County Police Department and/or the local law enforcement agency that initiated the arrest.

The St. Louis County Police Department’s public website includes a Free Inmate Search Tool that the public can use to look up arrestees who have been booked and are currently in custody at the jail facility.³ A search can be initiated by entering the first and/or last name of the inmate.

The search retrieves a list of current inmates that match the search criteria. The data fields on the inmate’s name, year of birth, race, sex, and the facility where the inmate is in custody.

Selecting a record on the list brings up a web page with more detailed information on the arrest.

An in-person or phone inquiry about an arrest record can be made to the St. Louis County Police Department Jail utilizing the following location and phone information:

St. Louis County Police Department
7900 Forsyth Blvd
Clayton, Missouri 63105

Phone: 636.529.8210

At the local level, Florissant is the largest city in St. Louis County. The City of Florissant Police Department does operate a jail.

All arrests initiated by Florissant Police officers are processed at the city jail. Arrest records are generated by the Florissant Police Department.

The Florissant Police Department does not provide online search tools or any other type of information on arrest records on its public website. Inquiries about arrestees and inmates that are in custody at Florissant Municipal Jail need to be made by phone or in person to the following contact or location information:

City of Florissant Police Department
1700 North Highway 67,
Florissant, Missouri 63033

Phone: 341.831.7000

To obtain the full police report of the arrest from the Florissant Police Department it is necessary to initiate a Freedom of Information Request. An Online Public Records Request can be made online by filling out and submitting an online form.⁴

A public records request can also be made by phone or in person via the following phone or location information:

Florissant City Hall
City Clerk
955 Rue St. Francois
Florissant, Missouri , 63031

Phone: 314.839.7630

The City of Florissant does charge the public for making fees for providing public records requests. Fees include $0.10 per page plus an hourly fee for staff research and duplicating time. An estimate of the time and cost will be provided prior to work on the request begins.

VINELink is a non-governmental organization that provides the public information on criminal cases and custody status information. This resource is useful for searching prior arrests. Finding arrest records for prior older arrests are explained in detail in the next section of this article.

Obtain Details of Prior Arrests & Charges in St. Louis County Missouri

People who have been arrested in the past, or have prior arrests or a criminal record in St. Louis County, have had a court case adjudicated within the county courts. The St. Louis County court system maintains a database of all court records which are made available to the public.

The county’s public website provides an Online Court Records Search Tool that can be used to find records for prior arrests.⁵ A search can be initiated with just the last name of the defendant.

Additional search parameters may be entered including first name, middle name, case type, and the year the case was filed to narrow the search. Once the search is activated, the tool retrieves a list of court cases that match the search criteria.

The list of records that is retrieved as a result of the search provides some limited data fields. The “Case Number” field of the listed records is linked to a web page that is specific to the case.

Selecting a specific record from the list brings up all the details of the court case. The “Docket Entries” tab provides detailed, dated entries of events related to the case, including warrants and arrests.

The “Service Information” tab of the webpage displays arrest and bond information related to the case.

An inquiry about prior court cases can be made by telephone or in person by contacting or visiting the St. Louis County Clerk’s Office at the following information:

St. Louis County Clerk’s Office
1st Fl., 41 South Central
St. Louis, Missouri 63105

Phone: 314.615.5000

To obtain the full police record for a prior arrest made by a St. Louis County Police Officer, or an arrest made at the municipal level, the records can be obtained from the police departments via a Missouri Sunshine Law (Freedom of Information Act) request as outlined in the prior section of this article. This applies to arrests made by officers of a municipal police department within St. Louis County.

Lastly, the Missouri State Highway Patrol offers an online arrest report search tool that provides details about arrests made by the agency.⁶

The arrest information is automatically uploaded to the search tool and stays up for five days.

Most people live their entire lives without ever being arrested and are not familiar with the process. When a person is arrested, getting out of jail becomes the most important immediate goal for them.

How To Post Bail for an Arrest Made in St. Louis County: A Summary

Immediately following an arrest and undergoing the booking process, a subsequent bond hearing usually takes place within a 24-hours period.

The bail amount for the case will be determined by the presiding judge and will need to be posted by the arrestee ( now referred to as a defendant rather than arrestee) in order to be released from custody.

There are some situations in which the defendant may be released on their own personal recognizance, in which case the bail amount is sometimes completely eliminated. This is normally reserved for defendants that are first time nonviolent offenders that have committed minor crimes.

For those offenders with prior criminal records, especially those that have committed serious crimes, the judge determines a bail monetary amount based on the seriousness of the crime committed and the severity of the defendant’s criminal history. Defendants who are repeat violent offenders, and whom the judge considers a flight risk will typically end up with a ruling that includes a much higher bail amount.

In extreme cases, bail may even be altogether denied. Whatever the case may be, all defendants have the right to be represented by an attorney at the bond hearings in order to attempt to secure the best possible bond outcome.

The bond hearing concludes with a judge setting the bail amount. If the defendant has the monetary resources to pay the bail amount in full, the bail can be posted at the court or at the detention facility where the defendant is being held in custody. Sometimes a judge may exercise their discretion and only require a portion of the bail to be posted.

For cash bonds, the full amount must be in the form of cash, money order or cashier’s check.⁷ Credit cards or personal checks are not accepted. There will be a receipt sent for the posted bond. It will require several hours to release an arrested person or prisoner once a bond has been posted.

Contact the City Justice Center using the details below:⁸

City Justice Center
200 South Tucker Blvd.
St. Louis, Missouri 63102

Phone: 314-621-5848
Email: [email protected]

For defendants that are not able to pay the full bail amount, the services of a bail bondsman are often used to get a surety bond and pay the bail to be released from custody.

A bail agency, also known as a bail bondsman, puts up the entire bail amount, and charges a fee (as high as 20%) and usually demand a form of collateral to secure the bond, often in the form of a home or other valuable asset.

If the defendant fails to appear in court as ordered on the date assigned, the bail funds are forfeited to the court. Once the defendant appears in court as mandated, the bail funds are then returned at the end of the trial, with any fines or restitution amounts discounted if the defendant is found guilty of any charges resulting from the court case.

All the municipalities within St. Louis County use the county’s court system. Consequently, the procedures for hearings and posting bail are similar.

St. Louis County law enforcement records will only have to be searched by anyone who has found themselves, or someone very close to them, in the unexpected and unfortunate situation of being arrested.

In this circumstance, becoming well-informed on how to find St. Louis County arrest records becomes a major priority; the information in this resource can serve as a means to that end.