Los Angeles Booking Reports

Los Angeles booking reports cover arrests made by the LAPD and more than 40 other law enforcement agencies that work inside city limits. Searching for these records starts at the county level because the city does not run its own long-term jail. The Los Angeles County Sheriff handles booking and custody for most people arrested in the city. You can find Los Angeles booking reports online through the sheriff's inmate database, by phone, or in person at the LAPD Records Division. Understanding the split between city arrest records and county booking data is the first step in any search.

Los Angeles Booking Records and LA County

The city of Los Angeles sits inside Los Angeles County. That matters because the county sheriff runs the jail system. When LAPD officers arrest someone, the person goes through initial processing at a city station. Then they transfer to the LA County jail for formal booking. The booking report gets created at the county level. It lists the person's name, date of birth, charges, bail amount, arrest time, and where they are held. All of this data is public under California law.

This setup means you often need to check two places. The LAPD keeps the arrest report and incident details. The LA County Sheriff keeps the booking report and custody status. If you just want to know if someone is in jail right now and what their charges are, the county system is where to look. If you need the actual police report that describes what happened during the arrest, that comes from LAPD Records.

LAPD Records Division for Los Angeles Reports

The LAPD Records and Identification Division handles copies of arrest reports, crime reports, and traffic collision reports for incidents that took place in Los Angeles. The office is at 100 West 1st Street, Room P1-731. You can call them at (213) 486-8300. Walk-in requests are accepted during business hours. The LAPD charges $16 for an arrest summary and $23 for crime and traffic reports. These are the city's fees for the LAPD's own records, separate from whatever the county charges for booking data.

Getting a copy takes a bit of time. Mail requests need you to include the report number or enough details to locate the right file. Give a name, date of the incident, and location if you have it. LAPD staff will search their system and send you what they find. For urgent needs, going in person can speed things up. But keep in mind that the arrest summary from LAPD is not the same as the booking report from the county jail. They are two distinct documents.

Note: LAPD Records can be reached at (213) 486-8300 for current fee and processing time details.

Search Los Angeles Booking Reports Online

The fastest free way to find Los Angeles booking reports is through the LA County Sheriff's Inmate Information Center. This online tool covers anyone booked into the county jail system. That includes people arrested by LAPD, the sheriff's department, and every other police agency in Los Angeles County. Search by name to get booking details, charges, bail, and the facility where the person is held. The system runs around the clock and costs nothing to use.

The California DOJ also runs a record review process for people who want to check their own criminal history. This is different from a booking report search. A personal criminal history request goes through the DOJ's Record Review page and costs $25. It requires a Live Scan fingerprint submission. This route gives you a full summary that goes well past a single booking event in Los Angeles. It shows arrests from across the state.

The California CDCR inmate search is another state-level tool. Use it if someone arrested in Los Angeles has been sentenced to state prison. The CDCR database shows current location, admission date, and parole hearing info for people in the state prison system. It does not cover people held in county jail awaiting trial.

You can look up current booking information for Los Angeles arrests through the California DOJ's record review portal.

This state-level portal lets individuals request their own criminal history records, including data tied to Los Angeles arrests.

Los Angeles Booking Report Laws

California's Public Records Act gives people the right to see booking reports. Government Code Section 7920.000 sets the rules. Any person can ask a government agency for public records. No reason needed. The agency has 10 days to respond. For Los Angeles booking reports, the LA County Sheriff must release basic booking data including names, charges, bail, and arrest times. This is spelled out in Government Code Section 7923.600, which requires law enforcement to make this data public.

Penal Code Section 13300 defines what counts as local criminal history information. It covers names, dates of arrest, booking numbers, charges, and case outcomes. Full criminal histories are restricted to authorized users. But the basic facts from a single Los Angeles booking are available to anyone. There is a clear line in the law between a booking report and a full rap sheet. The booking report is public. The rap sheet is not, unless it is your own.

Sealing Los Angeles Arrest Records

People arrested in Los Angeles can petition to seal their records in some cases. Penal Code Section 851.91 lets people ask the court to seal arrest records when charges were dropped or resulted in acquittal. The petition goes to the court in the county where the arrest took place. If granted, the booking report, arrest photos, and related records get sealed. They stop showing up in public searches.

Penal Code Section 851.8 covers cases of factual innocence. This is a stronger form of relief. If the court finds you were actually innocent, the arrest records get sealed and then destroyed after three years. Both options exist for people who were booked in Los Angeles but never convicted. Legal aid groups in LA can help with the paperwork. The process takes several weeks in most cases.

Note: Sealed records will not appear in online booking report searches for Los Angeles.

Track Los Angeles Custody Status

The VINE notification system covers Los Angeles. It sends alerts when someone is booked, released, or transferred. Crime victims use VINE to track an offender without calling the jail. Registration is free. You can choose to get phone calls, emails, or text messages. Just search by the person's name or booking number. VINE works for people held in LA County jail and across other California counties too.

Booking Rights in Los Angeles

When someone gets booked after an arrest in Los Angeles, they have specific rights under state law. Penal Code Section 851.5 says an arrested person gets at least three phone calls within three hours of booking. These calls can go to a lawyer, a bail bond agent, or a family member. The calls are free for local numbers. Long distance calls can be collect. This right kicks in as soon as the person is booked into the LA County system.

The booking process itself creates a permanent record. Staff log the person's name, physical description, date of birth, the charges, the time of arrest, and the amount of bail. California Penal Code Section 13665 places limits on how booking photos are shared. Police departments in Los Angeles cannot post booking photos on social media for nonviolent crimes unless specific exceptions apply. If a photo does get posted, it must come down within 14 days. These rules shape what you can find online versus what stays internal to the jail.

Nearby Cities Booking Reports

Several large cities near Los Angeles also have their own booking report pages. All of them feed into the same LA County jail system for booking purposes.