Yes. The Maryland Public Information Act (PIA), enacted in 1970 and codified at § 10-611 to 10-628 in the State Government Article within the Maryland Annotated Code, gives public access to public documents while safeguarding legitimate state interests and individual citizens' privacy rights. The aim of the PIA is identical to that of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Anyone interested in reviewing a public arrest record can contact the respective arresting agency.
An arrest record is a document that details an individual's booking and detention following the alleged conduct of an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony. Maryland law enforcement authorities create and maintain these records once a person is arrested, regardless of the alleged offense.
Although featured as part of an individual's Maryland criminal records, an arrest record is not definitive proof of a person's criminality. Instead, it gives information on an arrest based on suspected illegal activity, which may be essential to one's trial. Since not all arrests result in a criminal conviction, the law allows for the deletion of arrest records, particularly where a person has been wrongfully charged or cleared.
Anyone caught or suspected of breaching Maryland's Code and Court Rules can be arrested and prosecuted for a criminal offense. Once the individual has been arrested, the arresting officer will make a report in their name, and the details of this report will be entered into the arrest record.
An arrest record is a written record of a person's arrest by the police. As a result, the following details are frequently included in the document:
An arrest record can be viewed by the subject of the record, an employer, an insurance company, a legal representative, a victim, a witness, a government agency, a bail bondsman, and any other interested third party. However, some arrest records or information may be withheld from public disclosure due to federal and state exemptions. An arrest record will be restricted for the general public view if:
Another important reason the police could refuse to release an arrest record to the public is if the matter is still pending in court. Thus, the arrest record is now part of the suspect's local criminal history, which is not subjected to Maryland's public record disclosure regulations and may only be seen by a specific group of people and agencies.
Each year, the Maryland Statistical Analysis Center (MSAC) gathers statistical information from local law enforcement agencies that outlines various police arrest records and demographic information on arrested people. The data collection focused on the following indexed crimes:
The total number of crime incidents reported in Maryland in 2020 was 123,439, which states a 15.35% decrease in the rate of crime incidents compared to the 145,815 incidents recorded in 2019. There was also a 16.58% and 10.10% decrease in property crime and violent crimes, respectively.
In Maryland, the total number of arrests recorded in 2020 was 127,748. Out of these numbers, 117,377 were adult arrests, while juvenile arrests were 10,371. Furthermore, drug-related arrests totaled 20,099, which is a 32.6% decrease compared to drug-related crime arrests recorded in 2019.
An arrest search in Maryland is a search designed for members with access to arrest records about persons caught or suspected of breaching Maryland's Code and Court Rules. In most cases, the inquirer is the arrested or suspected party. However, Maryland state law allows members other than the record subject to use the arrest search. Members of the public can visit the police department in charge of the arrest of the local Sheriff's office to search for an arrest record. Inquirers are advised to go through the official website of the relevant department for further information, as obtaining arrest record procedures is different from one agency to another.
Most times, the person requesting an examination of a Maryland arrest record is the subject of the record (the arrested/suspected party). However, the state law allows anybody other than the record holder to look up public arrest records.
The first place to inquire about an arrest record is the police department in charge of the arrest of the local Sheriff's office. Requestors are advised to contact or visit the official website of the relevant department for information on how to view their respective arrest record. This is because record transmission procedures and charges differ from one agency to another.
The Baltimore City Sheriff's Office, Baltimore County Sheriff's Office, and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, for example, provide online forms that requesters may complete and submit. The Carroll County Sheriff's Office and the Charles County Sheriff's Office, for example, provide printable record request forms that can be sent, emailed, or given in person. Others may require the presence of the requester before providing records. Furthermore, some sheriff's websites may give access to recent arrest data.
To execute a PIA request, a local law enforcement agency may need personally identifiable information about the arrestee, such as complete name, arrest date, case number, or booking number. Personally identifiable information such as the requester's full name, mailing address, contact number, and a valid photo ID will also be requested. Kindly note that local law enforcement agencies will charge a fee for providing copies, which can be paid in cash, check, or money order.
In addition to getting an arrestee's record from a local police agency, some parties may also seek an arrestee's local or state criminal history record. This type of document has more specific arrest information. However, access is limited to the subject of an arrest record, some employers, law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies, and others allowed under Maryland Public Information § 10-302.
Local law enforcement agencies retain local criminal records, including arrests carried out in their jurisdiction. The state criminal history records, which give a more detailed picture of an individual's arrest history in the state, may be accessed through the state's Department of Justice Services (DOJ) database.
In Maryland, the Public Information Act grants the general public the right to access and arrest records. However, this is not an absolute right. The public generally gets access to just a portion of an arrest record under the PIA, and in exceptional cases, the whole record may be withheld from publication.
A subpoena is necessary when an entity needs to get restricted or non-PIA records from a law enforcement agency. Law enforcement or judicial objectives are two of the most common grounds for obtaining such access. A person, for example, may need to subpoena an arrest record if a court case is still pending and some time has passed since the arrest.
A subpoena (sometimes called a Subpoena Duces Tecum) is a court order that requires someone to appear in court or submit specific documents. Subpoenaing arrest records in Maryland is a two-step procedure. A person must download and fill out a subpoena form with the needed information before submitting it to the court clerk for issue (i.e., signing and stamping). Following that, the individual must serve it on the records custodian of the relevant police agency or Sheriff's office.
Most courts' websites include subpoena forms and packages accessible for download. Alternatively, go to the Maryland Judicial Branch's Courts Forms page and put "subpoena" into the search box to download the application form. For example, if the arrest record is for a criminal or traffic court case, the correct form to utilize is MD5669.
An individual may be required to pay a non-refundable processing fee before serving a police agency or SheriffSheriff. The subpoena can be delivered by hand to the custodian by a process server or anybody over the age of 18. After serving the subpoena, the server must file a Proof of Service with the court (which is usually included with the subpoena forms package).
Although the Maryland subpoena procedure is straightforward, applicants should consult with a lawyer to ensure they meet all legal requirements. They can also confirm the servicing process by contacting the law enforcement department in charge of the arrest record. Remember that juvenile arrest records in Maryland cannot be subpoenaed.
According to the Maryland Rules of Court, anyone unable to obtain a juvenile record must petition the Juvenile Court for accessibility. This entails serving all parties concerned by sending or hand-delivering the following documentation to the court:
Charges may be levied in response to the request.
Individuals detained for trial/sentencing or sentenced to a period of imprisonment or rehabilitation are housed in the Maryland prison system, including state prisons, correctional institutions, detention centers, and conservation (fire) camps.
A person can search for an inmate in the Maryland prison system using the Public Offender Locator System offered by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS), the agency in charge of running the state's prison system. The searcher must have the DPSCS Offender ID number or inmate's last name to get results. Other information required is:
If the inmate's whereabouts cannot be determined via the Inmate Locator System, the client can contact the DPSCS Identification Unit at (410) 339-5000 or (877) 379-8636.
To refine their search, people can use inmate lookup tools, which are often found on county sheriffs' websites. Information about an inmate's identity, arrest, booking, bail, housing location, and offense/case information can all be found.
It is important to note that records for young detainees are not accessible over the internet.
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and county sheriffs' online inmate search tools only provide information about current inmates. In addition, there is no unified database of former inmates in Maryland. Thus, anybody who wants to know if someone has spent time in jail or prison must contact the local sheriff or police department or the Maryland DPSCS.
To find recent arrests in Maryland, the requester will have to reach out to the State Court responsible for keeping reports of felony and misdemeanor cases. The court can provide different arrest records under request and in some cases, free of charge.
Note that finding arrest records in Maryland at the county level varies depending on the county. For instance, the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office, Baltimore County Sheriff's Office, and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office provide online forms that requesters may complete and submit. Others may require the presence of the requester before providing records.
Members of the public interested in making a PIA request for arrest records should provide personal identification information, which includes the arrestee's name, arrest date, case number, and registration number. Note that local law enforcement agencies may charge a fee for providing copies, which the requester can either in cash or check.
Maryland law does not specify the length of time that arrest records must be kept. As a result, law enforcement agencies adhere to departmental and management schedules.
The record retention policy of the agency in charge of the record determines the amount of time a Maryland arrest record is kept on file, which may be based on:
The Department of Justice, for example, keeps arrest records on file until the person reaches the age of 100. On the other hand, local law enforcement authorities have various retention timelines for arrest records. However, the government may employ longer retention periods for papers of an uncaught escapee, homicide, a sex offense, or a child-related crime.
An arrest report in Maryland is a paper containing specific information about the circumstances surrounding a person's arrest after conduct violating the state court rules. Police records are different from arrest reports and contain incident reports, police reports, and general law enforcement activity. The courts and law enforcement agencies are responsible for keeping arrest and criminal reports in Maryland.
An arrest report in Maryland also contains the following details:
When an individual is arrested, the officer in charge will make a report in the name of the individual, and the arrest details will be entered into the arrest record.
Obtaining an arrest record from a Maryland law enforcement agency often entails contacting the agency or completing a form. Because the agency will most likely deliver copies of the document to the requester, the individual will be liable for the cost of reproduction.
In Maryland, however, county sheriffs' websites give one freeway to retrieve arrest information, even though a person may only be able to access information about recent arrests.
It might be challenging to get a physical copy of an arrest record or locate it online through databases maintained by law enforcement groups. In this kind of situation, a person can utilize a third-party search service to obtain the needed information without waiting long periods.
To search a Maryland arrest record via a third-party search tool, open your web browser and go to the appropriate site, then type the record owner's first and last name into the search fields given. The requester will most likely have to pay a one-time fee or sign up for a monthly membership to obtain the record.
Anyone who notices a mistake on their arrest record should file a complaint with the law enforcement agency that created the record.
People who seek to challenge their criminal record information must fill and submit the form provided by the criminal justice agency holding the record back to that agency or to the Criminal Justice Information System, a unit under the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Maryland. The person who initiates the dispute or complaint may keep a backup copy of the document and the claimed record on file.
The criminal justice agency or agencies that created the disputed record will then look for any discrepancies or inaccuracies in their database and the contents of the complaints in order given by the Criminal Justice Information System and submit their findings back to them.
If a record in the Criminal Justice Information System has to be corrected, the Criminal Justice Information System will do the needful and then inform the agency that created the record, as well as any other agencies involved in the review, and give them a copy of the new record.
Only those who had this record with them 24 months before the correction will be notified by the Criminal Justice Information System.
There are various alternatives available in Maryland for sealing or erasing arrest records. The most popular method is to file a petition with the court under the state's Criminal Procedure 10.1.
People who were arrested but not convicted may also file a petition under Section 10.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The following are instances when the law applies:
To file for expungement,
It is important to note that: