Find St. Joseph County Arrest Records
St. Joseph County arrest records cover one of the largest metro areas in northern Indiana, centered on South Bend and Mishawaka. With roughly 271,000 residents, the county generates a steady volume of criminal cases, jail bookings, and police reports each year.
St. Joseph County Quick Facts
St. Joseph County Sheriff Booking Records
The St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office manages the county jail in South Bend and processes all booking records for the jurisdiction. When someone is arrested by county deputies or transferred from a local police department, the jail staff log the booking. Each record includes the person's name, charges, booking date and time, and bond information. These records are public under IC 5-14-3, Indiana's Access to Public Records Act.
St. Joseph County is a busy jurisdiction. The jail handles hundreds of bookings each month from deputies, South Bend police, Mishawaka police, and other agencies in the county. The sheriff's office maintains booking logs and can provide copies upon request. You can call or visit the jail records division in South Bend to get copies of specific booking records.
The INjail portal lets you search for current inmates in the St. Joseph County jail. Select St. Joseph County from the dropdown and search by name. The portal shows who is being held, their charges, and booking dates. It updates regularly but may not reflect same-day releases or transfers.
The INjail state portal covers all Indiana county jails and is free to use.
Pick St. Joseph County from the list to see current jail population and booking details.
Note: South Bend Police Department handles its own arrest reports for incidents within city limits. You may need to contact SBPD separately for those records.
St. Joseph County Court Case Search
Criminal cases from St. Joseph County arrests go through the St. Joseph Superior Court or St. Joseph Circuit Court in South Bend. The court clerk processes all filings and keeps records of charges, hearing dates, plea deals, and sentencing. You can search these records for free on MyCase, the Indiana court records portal.
The MyCase portal is the fastest way to look up arrest-related court cases in St. Joseph County.
Search by name or case number. Results show the charges, case status, hearing schedule, and judge for each case.
Court records give you more than a basic booking log. They track the full path of a criminal case from the prosecutor's filing through disposition. If the case went to trial, the record shows the verdict and sentence. If the defendant took a plea, that shows up too. New filings typically appear in MyCase within a day or two of when the clerk enters them.
St. Joseph County has multiple courts handling criminal cases, so make sure you check under the right court division. Superior Court handles the bulk of criminal matters, while Circuit Court may handle certain types of cases. Both feed into the same MyCase system.
Statewide Criminal History Search
The Indiana State Police criminal history service runs a check that covers St. Joseph County and every other county in the state. A search costs $15 per name, or $15.70 by credit card. Results include felony and Class A misdemeanor arrests reported to the state repository. This is a good option if you want to look beyond one county or need a formal criminal history report for employment, licensing, or personal use.
Below is the ISP criminal history services page where you can run a search.
Create an account to run paid searches. Results pull from the statewide criminal record database.
Other statewide tools that cover St. Joseph County include the Indiana DOC offender locator, which tracks people serving time in state prison. If someone was arrested in St. Joseph County and sentenced to the Department of Correction, this tool shows their facility, sentence length, and projected release date.
- MyCase: free court case search for all Indiana counties
- INjail: free current inmate lookup by county
- ISP criminal history: $15 per name, statewide results
- DOC offender locator: free, covers state prison inmates
Note: The quality of ISP results depends on how well each agency reports data to the state system. St. Joseph County generally reports well given its size and the volume of cases it handles.
Expungement in St. Joseph County
Under IC 35-38-9, certain arrest and conviction records in St. Joseph County can be sealed through expungement. The process starts by filing a petition with the court that handled your case. Arrests that did not lead to charges are eligible right away. Dismissed cases can be sealed after one year. Misdemeanor convictions have a five-year waiting period, and Level 6 felonies require eight years.
The judge reviews each petition and looks at the offense, the time that has passed, and whether you have any new charges. Once records are sealed, they do not show up in MyCase or ISP searches for the general public. Law enforcement and certain government agencies can still see them, but employers and the public cannot.
St. Joseph County has a large court system, so check with the clerk's office in South Bend about what forms and filing fees are needed. Legal aid organizations in the South Bend area may also help with expungement petitions if you cannot afford an attorney. The Indiana Legal Services office can point you in the right direction.
Cities in St. Joseph County
St. Joseph County includes two cities that are large enough to have their own pages on this site. South Bend is the county seat and the biggest city. Mishawaka sits just east of South Bend and has its own police department that handles arrests within city limits. Both cities route their criminal cases through the St. Joseph County court system.