Mecklenburg County Police Records

Mecklenburg County police records are maintained by the Sheriff's Office and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a population over 1.1 million, Mecklenburg is the most populous county in the state. The sheriff operates an online portal for arrest, inmate, and warrant searches. You can look up police records by name through this free tool. The county also has public access terminals at the courthouse. This guide covers all the ways to find and access police records in Mecklenburg County.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office Records

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office is at 700 E. 4th Street in Charlotte. Sheriff Garry L. McFadden leads the department. Call 704-336-8100 for general inquiries. The public information office handles arrest and warrant inquiries by email at mcsopublicinformation@mecknc.gov. The office runs several divisions including Field Operations, Courts, Community Engagement, and Crisis Negotiation.

The sheriff's office maintains police records for the entire county. This includes arrest data going back to January 2013 through the arrest dashboard at mecknc.gov. Booking records, inmate files, and warrant information are all searchable through the online portal. Walk-in requests for copies of police records are accepted at the Charlotte office during business hours.

Note: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department no longer provides local arrest histories through its Records Division.

Mecklenburg County Arrest and Warrant Portal

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's online portal offers three search tools. The arrest inquiry covers the past three years. The inmate inquiry shows current inmates. The warrant inquiry shows active warrants. You can search by last name, first name, person ID, or jail ID.

Each inmate profile includes a photo, full name, arrest number, date of birth, jail ID, status, charges, and sentences. Warrant records show the person's name, processing number, description, case number, classification, type of warrant, and jurisdiction. These tools are free to use and require no account. The data updates as new bookings and warrants come in from across Mecklenburg County.

The sheriff's office also maintains an arrest dashboard at mecknc.gov. This dashboard shows arrest data from January 1, 2013 to the present. You can filter by date range and review trends. The NC Sex Offender Registry at sexoffender.ncsbi.gov is another free tool that covers Mecklenburg County. Search by name, address, or zip code to find registered offenders in the area.

The portal above provides arrest, inmate, and warrant search tools for Mecklenburg County police records.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Records

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department maintains its own set of police records for incidents within the city of Charlotte. The CMPD Records Division handles arrest records, incident reports, and accident reports. However, local arrest history requests are no longer processed by CMPD. Those requests must go to the Clerk of Court at 832 E. Fourth Street in Charlotte.

The fee for an arrest history search at the Clerk of Court is twenty-five dollars. Payment must be in cash, certified check, or money order. The Clerk of Court office is open Monday through Friday during regular business hours. This office handles both superior court and district court records for Mecklenburg County.

Mecklenburg County Court Records

The Mecklenburg County Clerk of Superior Court sits in the 26th Judicial District. The NC Courts website provides case search tools and contact information. Superior Court handles felonies and civil cases over twenty-five thousand dollars. District Court handles misdemeanors, smaller civil cases, family matters, and juvenile cases.

Public access terminals are available at the Mecklenburg County courthouse. You can use these to search court records for free. The 26th Judicial District also offers a SelfServe Center for public access to court resources. Remote hearings via Webex are available for some proceedings. Civil and criminal calendars are posted online for cases in Mecklenburg County.

Police Records Access Under State Law

Police records in Mecklenburg County are public under the North Carolina Public Records Act, N.C.G.S. Chapter 132. You can inspect records at no cost during business hours. Copies involve a fee. The county follows state guidelines for pricing and access.

Certain records are restricted. Active investigations can be withheld. Juvenile records are sealed under N.C.G.S. § 7B-3000. Body camera footage has its own disclosure rules. For standard arrest reports and closed case files, access is available to anyone in Mecklenburg County. If an agency denies your request, you can ask for the legal basis in writing.

The public portions of every police record in Mecklenburg County always include the date, time, and location of the incident, along with the name and age of any arrested person. These basic facts must be released upon request. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office and CMPD both follow these state rules. If a request is denied, ask for the legal basis in writing and challenge the denial through the courts.

Note: Mecklenburg County violent crime data from 2018 shows an annual average of 5,376 reported incidents.

How to Search Mecklenburg County Records

The online portal at mecksheriffweb.mecklenburgcountync.gov is the fastest way to search for police records in Mecklenburg County. Use it to look up arrests from the past three years, check on current inmates, or find active warrants. No account is needed. The tool is free.

For older records or certified copies, contact the Clerk of Court at 704-686-0400. The sheriff's public information office at mcsopublicinformation@mecknc.gov can help with arrest and warrant inquiries. The NC Department of Adult Correction offender search at dac.nc.gov covers state-level records going back to 1972. For background checks through the SBI, name-based searches cost fourteen dollars and fingerprint-based searches cost thirty-eight dollars.

• Search the sheriff's online portal for free
• Call 704-336-8100 for the sheriff's office
• Visit the Clerk of Court at 832 E. 4th Street
• Email mcsopublicinformation@mecknc.gov
• Use public access terminals at the courthouse

Nearby Counties

These counties border Mecklenburg County. Police records are stored in the county where the arrest or incident happened.