Norfolk County, Massachusetts Arrest Records

Norfolk County Arrest Records are the official documents that contain all information about an individual arrested by law enforcement in Norfolk County. Typically, the arrest record consists of details provided by the local police agency at the time of the arrest. This can include identification, the offense the accused was charged with, and their booking information.

While in Massachusetts, arrest records are not entirely subject to the Public Records Law. Most fall under the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) framework established by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 6, Sections 167-178. CORI contains records collected from all criminal justice agencies related to arrests, charges, and case resolutions. However, access to these records is restricted. Some types of records are open to the general public, but only under very specific circumstances 

The purpose of making arrest records available to the public is to promote government transparency. Records are also maintained by police departments, such as the Quincy and Brookline Police Departments. 

Are Arrest Records Public Information in Norfolk, Massachusetts?

Arrests in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, are usually public record. However, access is restricted under certain provisions of Massachusetts law and regulation. Massachusetts has enacted the Public Records Act (M.G.L. c. 66, § 10) that makes all governmental records presumptively open to the general public for inspection upon request. Many arrest reports fall within this category. Therefore, requesters do not have to live in Norfolk County, nor do they require a particular purpose for requesting their own arrest report.

However, Massachusetts has also passed legislation governing how criminal data can be used: specifically, the CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) statute (M.G.L. c. 6, § 172). The CORI statutes limit who may obtain an individual’s complete history. It requires identification (date of birth and name) and, sometimes, registration with the Massachusetts Department of State Police.

Some types of criminal records are NOT open to the public. Examples include sealed court files, juvenile records, and pending investigations.

What Do Public County Arrest Records Contain?

Generally speaking, public-facing arrest records for Norfolk County include most information permitted by State law for disclosure. Most commonly, this will include the arrested party's full name and the date and time of their arrest. The names of the agencies that made the arrests and, generally, the area of town where they were arrested will also appear. Typically, charges filed at the time of the arrest will also appear.

Depending on how much information was collected during the arrest, additional details may include booking information (such as the booking number), custody status, etc.

Not everything related to an arrest will be publicly available. While it is true that Massachusetts allows some data to be protected from disclosure due to privacy rights, there are other reasons why data may be withheld from being disclosed. For example, withholding the data would interfere with an investigation or expose personally identifiable information about the victims or witnesses. Additionally, Massachusetts has laws protecting personal identifiable information. This includes social security numbers, juvenile court records, victim or witness identifying information, and, many times, internal investigative notes and reports regarding sealed and expunged cases.

Norfolk County,  Massachusetts Arrest Search

Beginning with searches of arrest information in connection with Norfolk County, Massachusetts, such searches can generally be found at two levels: state and federal. The state level provides access to the CORI System, which is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. With basic identification provided, both private individuals and approved entities can obtain limited information about an individual’s criminal history, including specific entries related to their arrests.

Additionally, the Massachusetts Trial Court has access to all statewide court records related to arrests, as long as charges were filed. Generally, these records will show how a case progressed over time, but not necessarily the arrest itself.

Federal agencies such as the FBI have access to criminal histories. However, because fingerprints are required, it is much less likely that an unauthorized party would obtain a copy of this type of record.

Norfolk County Inmate Locator

To find current arrests in Norfolk County, many people use county-level Inmate Locator Systems. The Inmate Locator System is typically run by the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office. This system allows users to look up individuals currently held in jail. Users can enter either a name or booking details to get limited information, such as when a person was booked, their charges, and whether they are housed.

Requesters may need to call the Sheriff’s office or come down to visit to ask their question. While these inmate locators will provide information on whether somebody has been arrested and jailed within the last few days, they do not have access to all of that person’s entire history of crimes committed.

Requesters who need help using the inmate locators or finding out about other ways to research this subject should contact the sheriff’s office at:

Norfolk County Sheriff’s Department

200 West Street

Dedham, MA 02026 

Phone: (781) 329-3705

Active Warrant Search in Norfolk County

A Massachusetts arrest warrant is an order from a judge or magistrate authorizing law enforcement to apprehend and hold a particular individual on the basis of allegations that the individual committed a crime. Typically, in Massachusetts, a warrant is issued when probable cause is established. This determination can occur during a police officer’s application for a warrant or when a defendant fails to appear in court. The typical information included within an arrest warrant includes identifying information, details regarding the nature of the offense with which they were charged, and other terms and conditions of their arrest or bail. 

Members of the public have several options for accessing information regarding active arrest warrants. However, due to safety and privacy concerns, most warrant databases used by the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office are not publicly accessible online. Members of the public wishing to find an outstanding warrant for a particular person can contact the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Department in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred. Additionally, members of the public can check the Massachusetts Trial Courts website.

How to Find Arrest Records for Free in Norfolk County

While there are some options to find free arrest records in Norfolk County, they have limitations regarding the amount of detail that requesters will receive. Most local police agencies post their daily or weekly arrest logs online. The arrest logs posted by most law enforcement agencies do contain names, charges, and arrest dates. The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office has an Inmate Lookup Tool available that allows interested persons to determine who is currently in jail. This could provide leads on recent arrests based on search criteria.

Searchers can get free access to state-level data by doing searches using the Massachusetts Trial Courts Case Search. However, searching these databases also has many limitations, as with all free tools. Many of these free tools cannot search older records. Additionally, the outcome of cases or the complete history may not be included in the search results. Searching is normally done with a full name. Also, be aware that much of the sensitive or redacted information (such as sealed cases) will not appear in any free public database.

Norfolk County Arrest Report

A Norfolk County arrest record is usually an indexable, summarized entry located in law enforcement or criminal justice systems. An arrest record can include key identifiers for the individual who was arrested, the date of arrest, the charges, and whether the person is being held in jail. Arrest records can also be found in indexes or tracking logs and public databases. Additionally, these entries can be used for court-reporting purposes.

A police arrest report is a more detailed and descriptive document outlining the factual information related to why someone was arrested. The information included in an arrest report will outline the officer’s perspective of what occurred before, during, and after the arrest. This would include what happened prior to the arrest, physical evidence collected from the scene, and witness accounts. Generally speaking, arrest reports are non-public due to the inclusion of potentially confidential investigative details. Under Massachusetts law, an arrest record is available through agencies like the Norfolk County Sheriff’s office, but there is no guarantee that they will have access to a complete copy of the arrest report.

How to Get an Arrest Record Expunged in Norfolk County

The handling of arrest records within Norfolk County and throughout Massachusetts is regulated at the state level regarding all aspects of criminal record regulation. As such, counties have no jurisdiction over this issue. Massachusetts allows both the sealing and expungement of an individual’s criminal history record. However, true expungement, the destruction of the record with permanent loss to all courts and governmental agencies, has very specific and restrictive guidelines set forth in the applicable statutes. Sealing records prevents public access to them. However, does preserve those records for authorized purposes, whereas expunging a record completely removes it from the view of all courts, law enforcement agencies, and background check systems.

As per M.G.L. c. 276 § 100A and § 100C, Massachusetts residents can seek to either seal or expunge their criminal records through filing a petition in one of three situations: 

• After a time period post-conviction (three years for misdemeanor convictions, seven years for felony convictions)
• If their case was dismissed
• If they were found not guilty at trial
• If there was no probable cause for the charges to have been brought.

To pursue an opportunity to seal or expunge your criminal history record, you need to file the relevant petition with the court that heard the original case, along with the required documentation. The Judge reviewing your application will then determine whether you meet the required statutory conditions in order to grant the application.

How Do You Remove Norfolk County Arrest Records From the Internet?

The process for removing Norfolk County arrest records from the web will depend upon the nature of the records (i.e., their legal status) and their original sources. Where an individual’s arrest record has been legally sealed or expunged pursuant to state statute, they may be able to direct government agencies to revise or limit access to their official files. This thus reduces exposure to public records databases and related downstream references. Expungement or sealing, however, is no automatic assurance that the records will be removed from other websites because the data may have already been reproduced, cached, or indexed.

Typically, removal of publicly accessible arrest records will require a legitimate reason to do so, such as a court order, correcting false data, or protecting the subject's rights under MGL c. 66A. The entities publishing this type of information often elect to remove existing references if notified of a change in a subject’s criminal history. However, they are not usually compelled to remove prior references unless there is a valid statutory requirement.

The outcome regarding removal of arrest records will generally depend upon the current status of the record (i.e., public, sealed, or expunged).