Explore Free Palm Beach County Arrest Records & Charges

View free Palm Beach County arrest records using the linked lookup tools in this streamlined resource. These records are considered public information under the Florida Sunshine Law and can be accessed by anyone interested.

Arrest records inform citizens about people recently taken into custody, the reason charges were brought against them and information on incarceration and custody statuses.

Arrest records may be maintained in online databases or by various record custodians, and it’s important to know where to look and what information you need to successfully find the data you seek. This brief article assists you in conducting an effective search of arrest records in Palm Beach County, Florida.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

How To Look Up Current Palm Beach County Arrest Records & Mugshots for Free

With the Florida Sunshine Law, you can look up arrest records and related information throughout Palm Beach County.¹ Arrest records can be a great tool, but you need to have the right information to locate what you are seeking.

At a minimum, you should have the person’s name and the approximate date when the arrest occurred. Additional information, such as the type of charges or arresting agency, can be helpful as well.

When you are ready to conduct a search, an online option for accessing this arrest information is the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Booking Blotter.² You can search for booking and arrest information by a person’s name, address or a particular type of criminal charge. You can also narrow your focus by setting a booking date or selecting a particular arresting agency.

On the results page, matching arrest records will contain the person’s mugshot, name and descriptive information about them (e.g., gender, race). You can also view the booking date and time, arresting agency, release date and booking number.

Lastly, there is information on the specific charges, including a description, the criminal statute and bond information.

Note: There is no additional information beyond what is provided on the results page.

You can request a police report and arrest information from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Central Records Department. You can either call them at 561-688-3140 or request a record online.³ Using this online tool, you can periodically check in to see if the records you are seeking have been found.

For other options to access arrest information, you can contact the Palm County Sheriff’s Office. A citizen is free to call them at 561-688-3000 or talk to someone at the address located below:

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
3228 Gun Club Rd.
West Palm Beach, Florida 33406

Alternatively, you can also reach out to the Palm Beach County Detention Center. Their main detention center is located at the address above, and you can contact them by phone at 561-688-4401. You can also reach out to the Palm Beach County West Detention Center.

You can call this location at 561-712-2971 or by going to the address below:

Palm Beach County West Detention Center
38811 James Wheeler Way
Belle Glade, Florida 33430

Most people will start by using these resources to search throughout the county. While you can search more broadly at the county level, you may be limited in the type and timing of when you can access this arrest information.

For time-sensitive matters, right after someone is taken into custody, you may need to go directly to the arresting agency, which may be at the municipal level.

You may also want to contact a municipal agency for a detailed police report. As an example, you can make a records request with the West Palm Beach Police Department, located within this county.⁴

To make a request for an arrest record, you will want to have certain information, such as the person’s name, the date and location of the incident and other related information.

You can submit a request online, where you can also track its status.⁵

For additional information, you can contact the West Palm Beach Police Department by email at [email protected] or by calling them at 561-822-1880. You can also ask any questions in person at the address below:

West Palm Beach Police Department
600 Banyan Blvd.
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401

They are available for any record inquiries Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

One last option is to seek out arrest information from a third-party service. One example of such a service where you can request arrest information is VINELink.

With these tools, you can quickly access arrest information to learn about a person’s current situation. However, this information is limited, and you may have a need to learn more about a person’s previous arrests and charges. In the next section, you will learn about how to access an individual’s complete criminal record in Palm Beach County and more.

How Do I Check Previous Arrests Made in Palm Beach County Florida?

Previous arrest information can tell you about specific charges an individual was convicted of. To search for this type of information, you can utilize the Palm Beach County Clerk’s Online Case Record Tool.⁶

This search tool is for all types of court cases, so the first thing you will want to do is make sure you are specifically searching for criminal cases.

To search for criminal cases, select the appropriate option under the “court type” drop-down menu. The primary options you can focus your search on include felony, misdemeanor and criminal traffic.

Once you make this selection, there will be particular case types you can choose from if you want. For example, if you select to search for felony matters, under the “case type” drop-down menu, you can select drug court, extradition, felony or veterans court.

Once that is all set, you can choose to enter the individual’s case number or name. If you are conducting a name search, you can choose to either enter their full name or what it starts with. Two additional options include setting a date range for either the offense date or when the case was filed.

Once you run your search query, the results page will provide you with all relevant criminal cases. These cases will display the defendant’s name, case number, court type, case type, arrest date, file date and current status.

If you find the criminal case you are seeking, click on the case number to view a detailed record of the matter.

The first page you get to when you click on the criminal record will contain the defendant’s race, sex, date of birth, arrest date and other information that was already displayed on the results page. There are several different tabs at the top of the page you can click on to get additional information. Here is a brief description of what you can find when you click on each of the following tabs:

Party Names: This section includes information on the defendant and other parties to the case, such as attorneys.

Dockets & Documents: Here is a listing of every filing or event that happened in a particular case with the option to view and request copies of certain documents.

Case Fees: Court fees, payments and receipts will all be provided in this section.

Charges & Sentences: For every charge, you can view the description, statute, disposition, offense date and plea. You can also see information on the sentence associated with each charge.

Court Events: This section contains information for all court hearings.

Warrants & Svc Docs: Warrant information and service documents are provided in this section.

Arrests & Bonds: Here, you can view the original arrest information and any bonds associated with the criminal case.

Criminal records are maintained by the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court. In addition to these online services, you can make a request with them for information on prior arrests and charges through their Records Service Center.

You can request a record by mail or in person at the address below:⁷

Palm Beach County Clerk of Court
205 N. Dixie Hwy.
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401

They are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Fees will depend on the type of record you are requesting.⁸

For more information, you can email the Clerk’s Office at [email protected] or by calling 561-355-2932.

In some counties, there is certain criminal information that is maintained by local municipal courts. There are no city courts that maintain criminal information. That being said, there are tools available to search a person’s criminal record history throughout Florida.

One option is to search online with the Florida Department of Corrections Offender Search Tool.⁹ This tool is not limited to just current inmates but allows you to search for anyone who has been incarcerated with a criminal record in Florida.

To use this search tool there are two steps involved. The first step is to enter the person’s name or Department of Corrections number. There is also an option available, if necessary, to search for any aliases.

The second step is to select a specific database. Your database options include those still incarcerated, fugitives, released inmates and offenders that are currently under supervision (probation or parole).

The results page will provide you with all offenders that match your search criteria in the database you selected. Matching results will contain the person’s name, date of birth, sex, race and Department of Corrections number. Depending on the database you selected, you will also see the current facility they reside in or their release date.

To view their complete online criminal record, click on their name. The record will include a brief summary of their record, mugshot and sentence below that the information is divided into multiple sections.

One section contains the individual’s incarceration history. In this section you can see the start and end date for every prison sentence they served. Another section contains detainer information.

The two sections with the most detailed information contain the individual’s current and prior sentence history. These sections will provide detailed information about the charges the person was convicted of, the county where the incident occurred and the date. You can also see the case number and the specific sentence that was issued by the judge for the conviction.

The information above provides you with all you need to know to locate a recent arrest record or prior charges. This information can be helpful in many different ways. In this last section, you will be provided an explanation of the bail process and your options if you want to assist someone currently arrested in Palm Beach County.

How To Cover Bail in Palm Beach County (Overview)

You have learned how to access arrest records and other types of criminal information in Palm Beach County. This section, however, will assist you in making a decision about how you should go about assisting a person who needs to post bail.

The amount of bail set for a person’s release primarily depends on the offense they are being accused of and the degree to which they are likely to show up for future court hearings. Depending on their bail amount and your comfort level, there are a couple of different ways to help a person post bail.

One option is to post a cash bond for the amount the bail was set at.¹⁰ Alternatively, certain situations will allow you to post a property bond, which can be used as collateral in the event the person does not show up for future court dates.

When a person shows up as they were required, you will be refunded your entire cash bond or have your property removed as collateral. However, you could forfeit the bond amount if the defendant goes missing.

The advantage of this self-bail process is that, as long as the defendant shows up when they are supposed to, you do not have to spend any money getting them out of jail. However, if you do not want to take the risk, you could choose to use the services of a bail bondsman.

With a bail bondsman, there is an upfront fee of 10% of the bail amount for their services. This amount is not refundable, regardless of the person’s compliance.

However, after you pay that fee, the rest of the work and risk is the responsibility of the bail bondsman. That means if the defendant does not show up for some reason, it is the bondsman who will lose the funds connected with the bond.

Each person’s situation is unique, and there are benefits to each of these options. Take time to carefully consider the risks and costs of each before making a decision.

You now have the know-how and tools needed to quickly access and request Palm Beach County arrest records; you also have an understanding of the process for posting bail on your own or using a bondsman.