View Free Anderson County Arrest Records (Lookup Resource)

Obtain Anderson County arrest records for free using the search tools and guidance this resource offers.

Arrests are considered public record throughout the state. Unless otherwise marked confidential, anyone is legally permitted to view most arrest records — not just the individual named in the report.

This brief article outlines how to search, view, and copy any arrest records for Anderson County, Texas.

How To Obtain Updated Anderson County Arrest Records for Free

Thanks to Texas’ Public Information Act (statute 552), the public has the right to access any government records without being questioned.

There are some instances where specific records are kept confidential, but all government records are presumed to be available to the public unless otherwise stated. For arrest records, in particular, individuals should begin searching at the county level.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Office: Although there is no official inmate locator tool available in the county, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has a records department that will process any request to view case reports, jail reports, or background checks.¹ These reports are available to all members of the public.

To obtain a report or background check, a written request must be made, either by mail or by email. To send a letter in the mail, use the following address:

Anderson County Sheriff’s Office
Attn: Records
1200 East Lacy Street
Palestine, TX 75801

To email in a request, there isn’t a provided email address to use; instead, individuals should head to the sheriff’s office website (link provided above), scroll down to “Departments and Contacts,” and select “Records Department.” Under this section, there is a tab that says “Email Records,” which folks should fill out to complete a request via email.

The information requested on the online submission includes the first and last name of the requester, a phone number and email, and the desired record. There is space to include a message if any clarifications need to be made or if any additional information should be passed along with the request.

The records department can be reached by phone at 903-731-8214. The office is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm from Monday to Friday.

Palestine Police Department: The city of Palestine, Texas is the county seat for Anderson County, and it keeps track of its own police reports. The Palestine Police Department has a Records Clerk who files all records relating to law enforcement within the city.

The police department does not release full records – only certain details about an arrest, such as the date and time it happened and the associated charges. The records clerk can be contacted by phone (903-731-8432) or email, which is available from the website linked above. If emailing the clerk, include the following information:

• Requester’s full name
• Requester’s email and phone number
• Any information on the desired report, such as the name of the suspect

The police station is open 24/7 and is located at:

Palestine Police Department
504 North Queen Street
Palestine, TX 75801

There are some third-party services that could also provide details on arrest reports for the county or cities within the county, such as VINELink.² These companies are not endorsed by any local government in Anderson County, though, and will not be able to provide any sort of official record.

If the arrest records an individual is searching for are not those of current or recent inmates, there might be some additional resources at both local and state levels that could assist in locating the documents.

How To Search for Details of Prior Arrests & Charges in Anderson County Texas

Anderson County Clerk’s Office: Although the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office may still be able to help when searching for prior arrest reports, the county clerk’s office is another official custodian of public records for the area.

The county clerk outsources its criminal case indexes to iDocket, a third-party that specializes in local government technology throughout the US. Anyone who needs to search through case records can create an iDocket account and use it free of charge with a basic membership. The criminal case indexes supplied by the county clerk to iDocket date back to 1969.

Another way to submit a records request through the clerk’s office is by email. On the homepage of the clerk’s office website, which is linked above, scroll down, and there is a place to send a message to the county clerk.

The clerk’s office is also reachable by phone or in person. The office is open from 8:00 am to noon and again from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm from Monday to Friday.

The phone number for the clerk is 903-723-7402. The office is located inside the courthouse at the following street address:

Anderson County Clerk
500 North Church Street, Room 10
Palestine, TX 75801

Palestine City Secretary: Similarly to the county, the Palestine Police Department may still be able to assist with older arrest reports that were made by the city, but the records division may not still have it filed, depending on the date of the report. If this is the case, the Palestine City Secretary is likely able to help.

There is an Online Public Information Request Form that anyone can fill out – all that is needed is contact information of the requester and a description of the desired record.³

Alternatively, the city offers a downloadable PDF version of the same form that can be submitted by email, fax, or in person. To email the form, send it to [email protected]. Faxes should be sent to 903-731-8485.

To drop off the form in person, head to the Development Services window at city hall, located at the following address:

Palestine City Hall
504 North Queen Street
Palestine, TX 75801

City hall is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm from Monday to Thursday and 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Fridays. The city secretary’s office can be reached by phone at 903-731-8414.

Texas Department of Public Safety: The state’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) – Crime Records Division keeps criminal records for all of Texas. Requests can only be made online using the DPS’s Public Information Request Form.⁴

Along with the requester’s contact details, the form requires the following information: The type of record (arrest report in this case) and the description of the information being requested. There are also spots to fill out more information, such as the date and location of the arrest and the name of the arrestee. The more information provided, the more expedited the search will be.

To search for criminal history records, there is a different search tool for the public to utilize, though there are costs involved. The DPS created an Online Criminal History Conviction Name Search that is available to the public.⁵

An account must be created in order to conduct a search, and search credits must be added (one search credit will allow for one search plus the viewing of one record. Credits cost $3.00 each.)

For more information contact the Texas Department of Public Safety at the below address:

Texas Department of Public Safety
5805 North Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78752-4431

Mailing Address:

PO Box 4087
Austin, TX 78773-0001

If folks are inquiring about arrest reports because a loved one has been arrested and is currently awaiting trial, the next section discusses the options available for them to pay bail on behalf of an inmate.

How To Pay Bail After an Arrest in Anderson County

There are two main ways to pay bail in Anderson County. The first is to pay by cash. In order to do this, individuals need to go in person to the detention center and let a staff member know that they are there to post bail for an inmate. The only accepted forms of payment for a cash bond are cash, money orders, and cashier’s checks.

To check what bail has been set or what kind of bail (cash, surety, or property) is allowed, call either the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office at 903-729-6068 or the detention center at 903-731-8209. To post a cash bond in person, head to the detention center at:

Anderson County Detention Center
1200 East Lacy Street
Palestine, TX 75801

However, there’s a chance that bail will be set at an amount that is too high for friends and family to pay, or the magistrate may not have set a cash bond as an option. When either is the case, the next option is to post a surety bond.

A surety bond is when an individual hires a bail bondsman or bail agency to post bail for him or her. Typically, 10 to 15% of the bail amount is paid to the agency by the individual, and depending on how much bail was set, the agency might require a form of collateral as well.

To find a bail bondsman who is licensed in Anderson County, ask either the detention center or the sheriff’s office.

In some cases, a magistrate might allow for a property bond. In this case, if the individual posting bail owns property in Anderson County, he or she can guarantee the bond amount in real estate equity if his or her property is worth at least double the amount of what bail has been set at, according to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Title 1 Chapter 17.⁷

Because arrest reports are public records in Texas, all the offices discussed throughout this article will be as helpful as possible in locating the desired documents. So long as the reports were not marked confidential for any reason and they are still on file through one of the official government custodians, staff members at any of the aforementioned offices will provide any details possible on the reports requested.

If one custodian is contacted with the request but it is located at another, typically, all county-level offices will communicate in order to get the individual the details of the correct Anderson County arrest records.