Pima County Arrest Records

Pima County arrest records document when law enforcement officers arrest individuals in the county. Such records typically contain information about the individuals arrested and charged with a crime. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and police departments in cities within the county maintain Arrest records in Pima County.

Arrests become necessary in the following scenarios:

• When law enforcement officers have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed
• When an individual violates existing laws
• When an existing warrant has been issued for an individual
• Arrests are made to stop and prevent the breach of peace caused by public disorder, such as fights, riots, or disruptive behavior.

Arrests are made when law enforcement officers or other persons authorized by law issue citations for violations of the law for persons to appear before a court to answer an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony. Law enforcement officers can also cite persons they believe have probable cause to have committed an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony. Arrested persons in Pima County are kept at the following facilities run by the county’s Sheriff’s Department:

Pima County Adult Detention Center (also called the Pima County Jail)
1270 West Silverlake Road
Tucson, AZ 85713

Pima County Jail (minimum security facility)
1801 South Mission Rd
Tucson, AZ 85713

Pima County Juvenile Detention Center
2225 East. Ajo Way
Tucson, AZ 85713

Ajo District Jail
1249 West. Ajo Well Road
Ajo, Arizona 85321
(520) 387-8511

Note that Pima County arrest records only reflect arrests made, not convictions like criminal records, and not records of cases through the county's judicial system, such as Pima County Court Records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Pima County?

Yes, per Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 39-121, arrest records are public records in Pima County. Statute § 39-121 mandates that records in the possession of law enforcement officers are open to inspection at any time by members of the public during office hours.

Members of the public can also request copies of these records. There are exceptions where arrest records are not available or restricted to the public in Pima County. These exceptions include juvenile arrest cases or records expunged or sealed by a court. Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 8-349(B) mandates that arrest records relating to the arrest of any juvenile are not open to public inspection. These records can only be accessed by authorized persons such as:

• Members of the juvenile court and their staff
• Law enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys investigating the case
• The legal representative of the juvenile or their attorney
• Parents and guardians of the juvenile
• Prospective military recruiters
• Local organizations providing rehabilitation or treatment
• Potential employers of the juvenile

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Public arrest records are the documents created due to the arrest of an individual. These records include arrest logs and booking records that provide information such as the individual's name, date of birth, location, date of arrest, offenses/charges, arresting officer, and case number. Pima County Arrest Records also include the following:

• Personal Information such as physical description like weight, eye color, hair color, height, or address
• Arrest details such as the name of the arresting officer/officers
• Booking information such as date and time of the booking, booking agency, booking number, and bail and bond amount
• Additional information such as a summary of arrest incidence or situation, evidence collected (if any), outstanding warrants, previous arrests, or criminal history

Note: In some instances, additional information beyond these is also available to members of the public.

Pima County Crime Rate

According to records from the Pima County Sheriff's Department, there were 126,024 calls for service in 2023. These are calls made to the police department requesting police services and may also be officer-initiated calls. This figure includes calls for Part I, Part II, fatal traffic incidents, traffic incidents with injury, and all other cases. Part I offenses include forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Part II offenses include forgery and counterfeiting, fraud, embezzlement, stolen property, vandalism, weapons possession, prostitution, sex offenses, drug abuse violations, gambling, driving under the influence, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, family offenses, and other assaults.

These incidents break down as follows:

Pima County Calls for Service Statistics

Of this figure, 5,555 (4.4%) larceny-related calls for service were made out of the 6.37% of Part I crimes, making it the most recurring crime in Pima County. Larceny was followed by other offenses (2,476), other assaults (2,424), and criminal damage (1,326).

Pima County Arrest Statistics

Per the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Crime Data Explorer, there were 8,264 arrests in Pima County in 2023. Of these arrests, 3,411 were larceny-theft, 1,169 were simple assaults, 871 were disorderly conduct, and 767 were driving under the influence. Of the arrested persons, 1,024 men aged 30-34 were the highest in any age range. The second age range with the second highest number of detained persons was males aged 25-29 at 879. The highest number of women arrested was 30-34, with 400 persons detained.

Most arrested persons have their race listed as white, with 6,934 out of 8,264 (84%). Other races whose arrest data is captured in the FBI Crime Data Explorer include Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian at a rate of 8.2%, 6.9%, and 0.8%, respectively, in 2023.

Pima County incarceration statistics show that the county has an incarceration capacity of 2,105 persons with 1,845 inmates as of March 2022. The county’s incarceration rate per 100,000 residents aged 15 to 64 at 1,037 is lower than that of the State of Arizona (1,232) but higher than that of the U.S. (992) as of the second quarter of 2018.

Find Pima County Arrest Records

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department provides an inmate lookup service for interested persons to find a listing of inmates held at the jail locations run by the department. The inmate lookup service provides a roster of all sentenced inmates, held for other jurisdictions, and accused inmates not yet convicted of a crime. The inmate lookup service allows the search through the inmate’s last name. A search of an inmate with the service provides the name, age, booking number, bond type, and the court handling their case.

Interested persons can also look up inmates in the federal correction system facilities in Pima County, such as the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, and the United States Penitentiary, Tucson. They can find these records using the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator.

Free Arrest Record Search in Pima County

Persons interested in Pima County arrest records can use the Pima County Sheriff’s Office free inmate lookup and the BOPs inmate locator, which is also free. Alternatively, they can use available third-party inmate search services and rosters. Third-party sites also allow search for offenders using first name, last name, partial name, date of birth, or booking number.

Get Pima County Criminal Records

Pima County criminal records are the official documents that record an individual’s criminal history in the county and their contact with the criminal justice system. Criminal records, also called rap sheets or criminal history, contain information about arrests, charges, convictions, other criminal proceedings, and an individual's sentences. Pima County criminal records include offenders' full names, known aliases, sex, age, fingerprints, mugshot, past and present criminal charges, conviction records, and arrest warrants.

Pima County criminal records are publicly available through the Pima County’s Sheriff's Department. Records are $5 each, with an additional $0.25 per page for reports over twenty pages. Persons requiring criminal history information can obtain it from:

Records Maintenance Unit
163 East Benson Highway, Suite C
Tucson, AZ 85714-1758
Phone: (520) 351-4650

Requests can be made in person or through mail. In-person requests are to be made during business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Requestors must provide their name, address, and telephone number.

Pima County criminal records are also available from the Criminal History Records Division of the Arizona Department of Public Safety at:

District 8 - Tucson
6401 South Tucson Boulevard
Tucson, AZ 85706
Phone: (520) 746-4500
Fax: (520) 746-4511

Requests for juveniles are to be made at the Pima County Juvenile Court:

Pima County Juvenile Court
2225 East Ajo Way
Tucson, AZ 85713

Pima County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Pima County arrest and criminal records are related yet distinct types of records. Pima County arrest records provide information on arrests made by law enforcement, such as the county’s sheriff and municipal police departments. The records provide information about an individual being taken into custody; however, charges may not have been filed after the arrest, and in some cases, while charges are filed, a conviction is not obtained.

Pima County criminal records, on the other hand, provide information on criminal cases and convictions through the county courts. Criminal records are only from cases where the defendant pleaded guilty or was found guilty through a trial process. The courts in the county maintain criminal records. Criminal records include offenses, court dispositions, imposed sentences, parole, or probation information. The Pima County Superior Court maintains the criminal records for felony cases, while the Pima County Justice Court maintains the records for misdemeanor cases.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrests are not removed from the records of arrested individuals in Pima County. This is per Arizona law’s sections A.R.S. 41-1750 and A.R.S. 41-2205, which provide for creating, storing, and disseminating criminal records. There is no predetermined time frame after which an arrest is automatically removed from an individual’s record in Pima County. Arrests kept on the record of individuals in Arizona include:

• Arrests leading to conviction
• Arrests not lead to convictions.
• Arrests where the charges were dismissed, dropped, or leading to acquittal.

However, in some cases, it is possible to expunge the records or to seal them. Also, juvenile records are sealed and destroyed when the individual attains adulthood without convictions.

Expunge Pima County Arrest Records

Per Proposition 207 (The Smart and Safe Arizona Act) and Proposition 207’s statute (A.R.S. § 36-2862), persons with marijuana-related arrest records can apply for their records to be expunged. Eligibility is based on arrest, charges, conviction, or acquittal on marijuana-related offenses before November 2020. Other eligibility requirements consider the quantity of marijuana, location of possession, and if it was for personal use. Persons seeking to expunge these records must petition a court for an order to seal the documents. The Arizona Supreme Court has provided petition forms for interested persons to use for this process. The forms include:

• Expungement Petition for Municipal/Justice Court
• Expungement Petition for Superior Court
• Expungement Petition for Juvenile Court

Also, persons convicted in Pima County can have their records set aside per Arizona statute ARS §13-905 if they meet certain requirements. The information still shows on their records but is now marked as “set aside”. Persons who have fulfilled the conditions of probation, paid fines and fees, were sentenced, and were discharged by the court after conviction of a criminal offense can apply for the court to set aside their guilt. Application is at a Superior court in the county of the sentence. The court will review the application and may grant the request. Set-asides are not available in cases involving:

• Infliction of severe physical injury
• The use or exhibition of dangerous instruments or deadly weapons
• A victim under 15 years
• Sexually motivated crime or there is a requirement to register as a sex offender.

Persons in Pima County who cannot expunge or set aside their records can apply for the records to be sealed by the court. Sealing does not erase the record but makes this record accessible to only authorized persons, such as law enforcement personnel. Interested parties can file at:

Pima County Superior Court Clerk’s Office
110 West Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701

Pima County Arrest Warrants

An arrest warrant is a legal document that authorizes law enforcement personnel to arrest or detain an individual when there is probable cause. Arrest warrants contain:

• Information of the issuing authority
• Information of the individual to be arrested, such as full name and description and date of birth
• Probable cause statement
• Specific charges
• Instruction to law enforcement
• Date and signature.

Arrest warrants are issued in Pima County by a magistrate, a judge of the Pima County Superior Court, Justices of the Peace, or Municipal Court judges. Before an arrest warrant is issued in Pima County, law enforcement officers must present an affidavit or sworn testimony to the judge showing probable cause that the person infringed. The judge will determine if there is probable cause to support issuing the arrest warrant.

Pima County Arrest Warrant Search

Persons interested in finding active arrest warrants in Pima County have the following options:

• Contact the court of jurisdiction to confirm the existence of a warrant. The FAQ page on the Pima County Sheriff’s Department website provides the addresses of the courts of jurisdiction in the county for interested persons.
• The Pima County Justice Court website has a search feature that allows interested persons to run a warrant check on themselves or others.
• Similarly, interested parties can search for warrants issued by the Superior Court through the Arizona Supreme Court’s website document search feature.
• Alternatively, they can contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

Do Pima County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No, Pima County arrest warrants do not expire. Once an arrest warrant is issued for a person, it will remain active indefinitely. Pima County arrest warrants are resolved only through:

• Law enforcement arrests the person the warrant is issued for
• The person the warrant is issued for turns themselves over
• The court rescinds the warrant
• Appearing in court in some cases resolves the warrant