Search Lancaster Court Records

LancasterCountyCourt.us is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the FCRA and does not provide consumer reports.
All searches conducted on LancasterCountyCourt.us are subject to the Terms of Service and Privacy Notice.

  1. Lancaster County Court
  2. Lancaster County Arrest Records

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Arrest Records

Lancaster arrest records are documents detailing when a person was taken into custody by law enforcement agencies and booked into the county's holding facility. They are created once the person is booked and encompass the booking information entered into the jail's database and the individual's previous arrest history. In Lancaster County, arrest records are created by the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, supported by local police departments in the city, or even the Pennsylvania State Police when they make arrests. Arrest records make up Pennsylvania's criminal justice system records and even court records if the case makes it to trial.

Arrest records serve the public by providing insight into law enforcement activities. They also provide information for individuals who want to perform background checks for personal or professional reasons (rental, education, licensing, etc.). Lancaster County has many police departments, which are also custodians of arrest records, including the Lancaster City Bureau of Police and the Manheim Township Police Department. Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) allows access to public information, and as arrest records are public, they are available to the public when requested. Access to information can happen without an ID unless specifically requested by the custodian of the record.

Are Arrest Records Public Information in Lancaster, Pennsylvania?

Yes, arrest records in Lancaster County are public records and are governed by two statutes in Pennsylvania. These laws are the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq., which gives access to public records, and the Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA), 18 Pa.C.S. § 9101 et seq., which governs access to criminal history information specifically. Unless specifically requested by the agency, an ID is not required to access arrest records. A record requester also does not need to be a resident of Lancaster County or Pennsylvania before access is granted. It is free to inspect a record, but charges may apply to make copies of the record.

What Do Public Lancaster County Arrest Records Contain?

A public arrest record will contain the following:

  • The name of the arrested person
  • The date, time of the arrest, and arresting agency
  • Offense descriptions and backing statutes
  • Booking number and processing information
  • Court information (bail status, docket number, etc.)

According to Under RTKL §708 and CHRIA, information may be redacted from an arrest record if

  • The investigation is actively ongoing
  • The record was sealed or expunged
  • The arrest record has victim, juvenile, or confidential information
  • The record has health information
  • The record compromises security data

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Arrest Search

In Lancaster County, an arrest search can be performed using available state and federal tools, such as the following:

  • Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Criminal History Records: This is the state's criminal repository where individuals can retrieve arrest records. It gives basic access to arrest information for free, but certified copies can also be obtained at a fee.
  • Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System Docket Search: Gives access to court information, including arrest records that escalated to trial.
  • FBI Identity History Summary Check: a tool for performing federal background checks and getting criminal history information of federal arrestees.
  • Federal Bureau of Prisons: It is an inmate look-up tool for finding incarcerated federal inmates. A search can be performed by name or ID number.

Lancaster County Inmate Locator

The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office oversees the county prison and is the custodian of arrest records in the county. They provide the Lancaster County Prison Inmate Lookup tool, an online resource that individuals can utilize to find inmates currently incarcerated in the prison. To perform a search, an individual requires the name, date of birth, and booking number of the arrestee. This lookup tool only covers current inmate information and their custody status. It excludes historical arrest records, juvenile records, and arrest reports. Their contact information is as follows:

Lancaster County Sheriff's Office

150 North Queen Street

Lancaster, PA 17603

Phone: (717) 299-8000

Active Warrant Search in Lancaster County

A Lancaster arrest warrant is an official document issued by a court to authorize law enforcement officers to take a named person into custody. Warrants have to be signed off on by a judge to be valid, and they are issued as part of an investigative process after probable cause is established. Arrest warrants typically contain the name of the individual to be arrested, the charge and corresponding statute, or the reason for arrest, and the date of issuance.

Arrest warrants are public under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law (65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.), and Lancaster County gives information on active warrants by publishing them on their Wanted Persons page. As the agency that executes the arrest warrant issued by the court, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office can be contacted to inquire about warrant information by phone, online, and in person.

Agency / Resource

Purpose

Search Methods

Notes

Lancaster County Sheriff's Office

Executes issued arrest warrants

Online by phone and in person

Has a wanted person's portal

Lancaster County Clerk of Courts

Issues warrant

Online

Through the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania's free online portal

How to Find Arrest Records for Free in Lancaster County

Free resources for obtaining arrest records in Lancaster County are as follows:

  • Lancaster County Court records: The court uses the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania's free online portal to give individuals access to court dockets. These include arrest records of criminal cases
  • Lancaster County Prison Inmate Lookup: The county's prison gives access to an online inmate roster showing recent bookings into the jail
  • Local Police Department: Individuals can check if their local police department publishes arrest logs. They can also be contacted by phone or in person for a free lookup of a case.

To complete a search, specific information such as the full name of the arrestee, their date of birth, or the case number is needed. Although these tools and avenues offer free access to arrest records, they are, however, limited in the following ways:

  • Coverage: arrest logs and jail rosters typically provide access only to recent arrest records. To access historical records, a person may need to submit a formal information request.
  • Confidential records: Confidential information is redacted from free arrest reports. Sensitive information like this is withheld.
  • Completeness: Free arrest records offer access to basic information only. They also don't show dismissed, sealed, or expunged records.

Lancaster County Arrest Report

A Lancaster arrest report is a narration of an arrest incident prepared by the arresting officer after an arrest. It contains their account of the arrest incident, evidence recovered, witness statements, the officer's observation, and a general description of what happened during the arrest procedure. Arrest reports are investigative documents and form the foundation on which the case will be prosecuted.

Arrest records differ from arrest reports in purpose, content, and who created them. Arrest records serve as an entry into the county's case management system. Unlike arrest reports, they contain the charges filed, the case number, and the disposition status of the case. They are created by law enforcement agencies after the arrestee has been booked into the county jail's database.

Arrest reports contain more descriptions of the arrest incident than arrest records. They are not as openly accessible as arrest records, as they contain confidential information (witness and victim information, etc.). Arrest records, on the other hand, as long as they are not legally restricted by the court, can be requested from the arresting agency when needed.

How to Get an Arrest Record Expunged in Lancaster County

Expungement is the legal destruction of an arrest record from a person's criminal history. Lancaster County allows the expungement of some arrest records as long as they qualify under Pennsylvania's expungement law. For an arrest record to be eligible for expunction, it should satisfy the following:

  • It should be a non-conviction
  • The arrestee must have completed an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program
  • The arrestee should not have any new arrests for 5 years after the arrest; they want to expunge
  • The arrestee is over 70 years old and has remained arrest-free for more than 10 years
  • The arrest is a juvenile

To expunge a record in Lancaster County, the arrestee confirms the eligibility of their case, files a petition with the Lancaster County Clerk of Courts, completes a Pennsylvania State Police background check, and pays the applicable filing fee. If granted, an expunction order is given by the court, which mandates that all law enforcement agencies delete the record.

Other pathways for a person to remove an arrest record from their criminal history include Pennsylvania's "Clean Slate" and "Limited Access" laws, which allow the sealing of certain misdemeanors in Pennsylvania. Sealing hides the record from public view but does not destroy it. It is also possible to remove arrest records by getting a pardon from the Governor of Pennsylvania or getting a vacatur (specifically for Victims of human trafficking)

How Do You Remove Lancaster County Arrest Records From the Internet?

After an arrest record has been expunged, the court order granted by the judge authorizes law enforcement agencies to remove the record from their records, including their online databases. A sealing order also allows the record to be restricted from public view even though it has not been deleted. It is, however, slightly more complicated to remove arrest records from third-party sites, as they are not mandated to abide by the court order sent to government agencies. Individuals can contact the site admins privately and request that their records be removed based on the site's privacy policies. If a search result has already been cached by a search engine, it may remain available over the internet temporarily, even after deletion, until the cache has been cleared.