Hardeman County Arrest Records

Police officers in Hardeman County can deprive a person of their liberty or freedom due to illegal activity. Individuals apprehended in Hardeman are transported to the nearest police station or jail, where they will be booked or processed for the offense. Booking involves entering the offender's details into a computer system/database and creating the arrest record, which the arresting agency will subsequently maintain, and the case's prosecutor can reference when deciding whether to file charges in court.

Arrest records serve other purposes beyond being a device with which prosecutorial offices may begin criminal proceedings. They also allow citizens to monitor law enforcement actions and police officers to track offender activity. However, these records are insufficient to determine an arrest's final disposition, for which one may review the Hardeman County court records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Hardeman County?

Yes. Tennessee's Public Records Act mandates the disclosure of many law enforcement documents, including arrest files, to interested members of the public. This means anyone can request to see or copy a Hardeman County arrest record. However, if the requested record is exempted by law, court order, or court rule, access may only be provided to statutorily authorized parties, like the record's subject or their legal representative. Examples of exempt records include

• Identities of confidential sources or informants
• Identities of certain crime victims, for example, victims of violent and sexual assault crimes
• Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS test results
• Juvenile offender data

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Hardeman County public arrest records typically bear the following information:

• The arrested individual's complete name and photograph
• The arresting agency, as well as the arrest time, date, and location
• The crime (misdemeanor or felony) for which the accused was arrested
• Bond amount and type
• Booking time, date, and number

Hardeman County Arrest Statistics

According to the annual Crime in Tennessee reports published by the CJIS Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the Hardeman County Sheriff's Office executed 617 arrests in 2023. According to the sheriff's department, more arrests were made for simple assault (69), drug/narcotic violations (63), aggravated assault (37), family–nonviolent offenses (37), and driving under the influence (DUI) (24).

A lower arrest total was reported by the Bolivar Police Department, which oversees the county's most populous city and county seat—Bolivar. The city PD recorded 325 arrests and an arrest rate of 6,252.4 per 100,000 population. Similar to reports from the sheriff's department, simple assault (74), drug/narcotic violations (40), aggravated assault (28), and DUI (17) were the most common arrests in Bolivar City in 2023.

For arrest statistics reported by the Middleton, Toone, and Whiteville PDs, one can review the latest Crime in Tennessee publications.

Find Hardeman County Arrest Records

Hardeman County arrest records are available to members of the public who query the arresting departments within the county. The Hardeman County Sheriff's Office makes most county arrests, but some cities within the jurisdiction operate their police forces, which are responsible for maintaining law and order, including executing arrests. Nonetheless, when querying a police department, one will typically need to provide the arrestee's name or any other pertinent data to enable records personnel to locate responsive documents.

Where the particular agency that arrested a person is unknown, one can access the Weekly Booking Reports page on the county sheriff's website. The Booking Reports carry information about persons arrested and detained at the local jail facility, including the specific arresting department.

However, if searching for a state prisoner—perhaps someone who was arrested in Hardeman but transferred to state custody—one can navigate to the Tennessee Department of Correction's Offender Search portal. An inmate's name or TDOC number is the required search parameter.

Information about federal arrestees can be obtained from the relevant arresting department, or one may search the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator.

Free Arrest Record Search in Hardeman County

Individuals who request arrest records from law enforcement departments in Hardeman County may not be liable for copy fees if they only wish to see information in a record. The local sheriff's Weekly Booking Reports, for example, are available for free to anyone curious about persons arrested and confined at the county jail.

In addition, several independent (third-party aggregator) websites provide public records searches to interested members of the public, and they may disseminate limited arrest information at no cost. However, those seeking extensive information from these sites may be charged a nominal amount for access.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrests tend to remain on a person's record indefinitely, regardless of the jurisdiction in Tennessee where an incident may have occurred. The Tennessee legislature, however, allows certain defendants to expunge public records related to their arrests, allowing them to deny such incidents without committing perjury.

Expunge Hardeman County Arrest Records

An expungement is a form of criminal record relief given to specific persons who meet state qualifications. People who wish to expunge their Hardeman County arrest records are required to be eligible under Tennessee law. This includes being an adult whose arrest did not lead to formal charges, whose charges were dismissed or case was nolle-prossed, or for whom a grand jury returned a no-bill decision (T.C.A. §40-32-101).

Eligible persons can file an expungement petition with the court having jurisdiction over their case (adults and juveniles can file with this petition form). No filing fees are applicable if the arrest resulted in a dismissed charge, no true bill, or the suspect was never formally charged. However, in completing the petition, one may need to obtain their case disposition from the clerk's office, which costs a fee. The Tennessee judiciary's Expungement handout contains detailed information about the state's expungement process, including ineligible offenses. These procedures apply to all Tennessee counties.

Where the court approves an expungement, an order will be entered and directed to all agencies with the record. Subsequently, these agencies will remove or destroy all affected records. However, because expunged information may still appear on third-party sites, it is vital that petitioners retain a copy of the expungement order for their records, which can be used to ask private entities for record removal.

Hardeman County Arrest Warrants

Arrest warrants are formal orders that allow law enforcement officers to arrest people accused of breaking the law or violating a court order.

Typically, courts issue arrest warrants upon law enforcement complaints alleging a person's involvement or participation in a crime. However, an arrest warrant can be issued "from the bench" when someone fails to appear on a scheduled court date, pay a court fine, finish community service, follow probation terms, or otherwise disobeys any other court order (such warrants are called "bench warrants").

To find out if a warrant was issued for someone's arrest in Hardeman County, a person can contact the local sheriff's office or the police department that oversees the jurisdiction.

Per Tennessee Criminal Procedure Rule 4 (c)(1), arrest warrants have the following contents:

• The signature of the issuing magistrate or clerk
• The name or description of the defendant
• The county where issued
• The offense alleged in the affidavit of complaint
• An order that the defendant be apprehended and brought before the nearest appropriate magistrate in the county of arrest.

Do Hardeman County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Yes, depending on the type of arrest warrant. In Hardeman County, a misdemeanor arrest warrant automatically expires once five years have passed from the date of issuance and the warrant has not been served, returned, or quashed (T.C.A. §40-6-206). On the other hand, felony warrants remain in effect until the suspects are captured, surrender, or die.