Silver Bow County Arrest Records

An arrest often kick-starts a person's journey through the criminal justice system. People arrested in Silver Bow County (if adults) are transported to the Butte-Silver Bow Detention Center, where they undergo booking/processing for their crimes. During the booking process, a booking officer collects information about the suspect by asking them questions, taking their photographs, and fingerprinting them. The information gathered forms the arrest record.

Arrest records, which may later become a part of the Silver Bow County court records when the suspect is charged to court, aid the legal system by:

• Promoting transparency
• Facilitating the prosecution of crimes
• Aiding trial preparation

Silver Bow County arrest records are also useful for background checks, legal education, policy formation, and other purposes.

Are Arrest Records Public in Silver Bow County?

Yes. In Silver Bow County, many arrest records are available for public inspection under the Montana Public Records Law. However, certain records are confidential or sealed by operation of law, including:

• Juvenile Identifying information
• Sensitive personal information about an individual
• Information associated with an ongoing investigation

Confidential or sealed records are typically accessible only to parties of the case and other stakeholders in the matter, such as criminal justice agencies and attorneys.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Public Silver Bow County arrest records often include the following information:

• Subject's name and booking ID
• Arrest and booking date
• Initial charge(s)
• Arresting agency
• Subject's mugshot

Silver Bow County Arrest Statistics

While the Montana Board of Crime Control publishes offense figures and trends for Montana counties, arrest data for Silver Bow County is not readily available to the public. Individuals can contact the Montana Board of Crime Control for arrest statistics or access the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Crime Data Explorer (CDE) to view arrest data by reporting agency. Local police departments and the Silver Bow County Sheriff's Office can also assist with their departmental arrest statistics.

Find Silver Bow County Arrest Records

The first step for finding information on Silver Bow County arrestees is to determine the official record custodian. This may be the Silver Bow County Sheriff's Office, the Montana Department of Corrections, or the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and other federal arresting agencies:

The Silver Bow County Sheriff's Department

The Silver Bow County Sheriff's Office is the primary custodian of arrest records and oversees the detention facility where arrestees are processed into jail.

Consequently, members of the public can request arrest records by querying the sheriff's office in person or using other information request methods endorsed by the sheriff. They can also access the jail roster on the Silver Bow Detention Center's website for booking records. The roster is updated daily to include information about the most recent inmates.

The Montana Department of Corrections

The Montana Department of Corrections holds records of individuals arrested or indicted in Silver Bow County and other Montana regions but committed to state detention facilities.

Members of the public can access state inmate records by querying the Department or using its Offender Search tool. The tool can be searched by a Department of Corrections ID number or subject's name.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies

When federal law enforcement agencies arrest individuals in Silver Bow County, they may process them into federal detention facilities managed by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Requesters can query the BOP for information about inmates in custody or access the online Federal Inmates Search Tool. An alternative is to contact specific federal arresting agencies—for example, the FBI or ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)—for arrestee information.

Free Arrest Record Search in Silver Bow County

The above resources are free for inspecting records on Silver Bow County arrestees. However, when one requires a copy of an arrest document from a law enforcement agency, they will be expected to foot the reproduction costs.

Additionally, third-party repositories provide convenient alternatives for searching Silver Bow County arrest records, sometimes for free. However, arrest records from private databases may be outdated or incomplete.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Forever. Silver Bow County arrests are permanent elements of a person's criminal history and may, as such, be found during a criminal background check. However, subjects of arrests may be able to prevent members of the public from viewing their arrest records by completing an expungement process.

Expunge Silver Bow County Arrest Records

In Montana, there is no room for individuals to expunge felony convictions, save for a few marijuana-related felonies. However, Title 46, Chapter 18, Part 11 of the Montana Code allows the expungement of misdemeanors and lists the eligibility criteria to include the following:

• Since the completion of all the terms of the original sentence, the subject has not been convicted of any other offense within and outside the state for at least 5 years.
• The subject has never previously attempted to expunge a record in Montana.
• The subject is not under detention and has not been charged for the commission of a new offense.

Eligible parties typically undergo these processes to have their arrest records expunged:

• Petition the District Court for an order expunging qualified records.
• Notify the prosecutor's office responsible for the conviction through the petitioner's attorney. The office will then notify the victims.
• Wait for the District Court to deny or grant the order (on certain occasions, the court may schedule a hearing)

When granting or denying an expungement petition, the court often considers several factors, such as:

• The petitioner's age at the time of the offense
• The duration between the offense and the petition
• The rehabilitation of the petitioner
• The likelihood of a re-offense

If the order is granted, the petitioner will be expected to visit a law enforcement agency to be fingerprinted on a blue applicant fingerprint card. The card, a filled-out expungement form, and the court order should then be forwarded to the CRISS (Criminal Records and Identification Services Section), a Montana Department of Justice division.

CRISS will make some verifications (including that the petitioner has not had previous expungements under this law) and effect the expungement order, thus removing the arrest record from the subject's criminal history. A 30-day processing time typically applies.

Silver Bow County Arrest Warrants

A Silver Bow arrest warrant is a written court order that commands a named individual's arrest and court appearance. Per Title 46, Chapter 6, Part 46 of the Montana Code, a valid arrest warrant must:

• Be issued in the name of the State of Montana or a municipality if a municipality ordinance was violated
• Include the nature of the offense
• Command that the subject be arrested and brought to the nearest court
• Specify the arrestee's name, designation, or description to make the identification of the subject reasonably certain
• State the issuing date and municipality
• Include the judge's signature and title of office

Silver Bow County arrest warrants may or may not specify the bail amount.

Courts often issue warrants based on a complaint and affidavit, sometimes strengthened by a witness testimony, that indicates probable cause to believe that someone committed a crime.

Since arrest warrants are issued to law enforcement agencies, individuals can query the named agency or the Silver Bow County Sheriff's Office for active local warrants.

Do Silver Bow County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Arrest warrants issued in Silver Bow County remain pending until the subject of the warrant is arrested, dies, or the issuing court quashes the warrant.