Cook County Arrest Records

When trying to find arrest records for anyone in Cook County, located in the state of Illinois, there are several ways to go about obtaining them. While this depends on if the person searching is wanting to get access to their own records or if they are wanting to get access to the records of someone else, the general information contained within is the same for everyone.

Cook County Arrest Records Contain

For starters, arrest records are documents that list a person?s criminal history once they have been arrested for any particular crime. The arrest record usually contains the person?s name, their age and/or date of birth, their last known address, and any details about their arrest. The record may also show any other convictions they have had along with photographs of them (usually their arresting mugshot) and a listing of their physical description, including any identifying marks they may have along with their race, height, and weight.
An arrest record becomes a criminal record if the person is either found guilty or pleads guilty and is subsequently convicted of the accused crime. A person?s arrest records alone are not legally allowed to be used in an employer?s background check for hiring or firing purposes, as a person?s arrest records are no considered criminal records and those with only arrest records have not been convicted of any crimes. Because of this, they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

These records can usually be obtained by visiting the Cook County clerk of court. The Cook County court clerk?s office houses the arrest records for arrests that have happened only in Cook County. Every county contains their own arrest records (usually these can be found at the clerk?s office in each county, but this information may differ depending on county or state.) Online, the website is cookcountyclerkofcourt.org. People wanting to get any arrest records in person can visit the clerk?s office to fill out the necessary documents to get these arrest records. There are many websites online, as well, that claim to be able to obtain copies of any and all arrest records, provided those wanting them pay a fee (usually in the form of a reoccurring subscription) but these third party websites can often be scammers who are just trying to collect money from people without truly following through with giving out the information they were paid to give out. Because of these scammers, it is always recommended that an individual in search of records check with the clerk?s office or the clerk office website directly to get the information they may need.