Access Perry County Police Records

Perry County police records are held by the Sheriff's Office and Circuit Clerk in Pinckneyville. This page covers how to request reports, search court files, and file a FOIA request in Perry County.

Perry County Sheriff's Office

The Perry County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement for unincorporated areas of the county. The office is at 12 E. Water Street, P.O. Box 350, in Pinckneyville, IL 62274. Call (618) 357-5212 for general inquiries. The sheriff handles patrol, jail operations, and civil process throughout Perry County.

Perry County is a rural area in southern Illinois. The sheriff's office covers the parts of the county that fall outside city limits. If your incident happened inside Pinckneyville, Du Quoin, or another town with its own police, that city department holds the report. Check which agency responded before you file a request.

Police reports from the sheriff cover incidents like domestic calls, traffic stops, thefts, assaults, and other criminal matters in the county. The sheriff also serves warrants and provides court security. To get a copy of a report, you need to file a written FOIA request.

FOIA Requests in Perry County

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/) gives you the right to request police records from any public body in Perry County. This covers the sheriff, local police, and all county offices. Your request must be in writing. Phone calls alone do not count.

Perry County has a designated FOIA officer. Charles Genesio handles FOIA requests for the county. He can be reached at 3764 State Route 13-127, Pinckneyville, IL 62274, or by phone at (618) 357-5116. If you are not sure where to send your request, start with the FOIA officer. He can direct it to the right department.

The agency has five business days to respond to your request. That can extend to ten days if the request is large or involves records from multiple offices. If your request is denied, the response must cite a specific FOIA exemption. You can appeal to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor.

Fees follow the state defaults in most cases. The first 50 pages of black and white copies are free. Additional pages cost $0.15 each. Electronic copies by email are usually free. Ask for digital delivery to keep costs down. The FOIA officer will let you know if there are any charges before they start copying.

Some records have restrictions. The Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630/) limits what arrest data can be released. Records tied to dropped charges or acquittals may be sealed. Open investigations can also be held back. You will get a written explanation if anything is denied.

Perry County Circuit Clerk

Tricia Kelly Chandler serves as the Perry County Circuit Clerk. The office address is P.O. Box 219, Pinckneyville, IL 62274. Call (618) 357-6726 or email TChandler@perrycountyil.gov. Visit the Perry County Circuit Clerk website for more details.

Court records are separate from police reports. Police reports document the incident. Court records track what happened in the legal system after charges were filed. The clerk's files include charges, hearings, pleas, trial outcomes, and sentences. If you want to see the outcome of a case that started with a police report, the circuit clerk is where to look.

To get a court record, visit the office in Pinckneyville or call to ask about the process. A case number speeds things up. The clerk can also search by name, but it takes longer. Fees for copies vary by document type. Certified copies cost more than plain ones. Call ahead for the current fee schedule.

Illinois State Police Resources for Perry County

ISP Troop 10 covers Perry County. State troopers patrol highways and state routes in this part of southern Illinois. If a trooper wrote the report you need, contact ISP directly. Their FOIA page is at isp.illinois.gov/Foia. You can also email ISP.FOIA.Officer@illinois.gov.

The ISP Bureau of Identification provides criminal history checks through the CHIRP system. This is a name-based search that returns conviction records only. It operates under the Uniform Conviction Information Act (20 ILCS 2635/). Arrests without convictions are excluded. The fee is $16 per search.

The ISP Bureau of Identification page is shown below.

Visit the ISP Bureau of Identification for information on statewide criminal history checks.

This page covers how to run statewide criminal history searches that include Perry County records.

The Illinois Sex Offender Registry is free. Search by name or address to see if registered offenders live in Perry County. ISP keeps the database current with updates from local law enforcement.

Types of Records Available in Perry County

Perry County agencies hold several types of police records. Here is what you can look for:

• Incident reports from the Sheriff's Office
• Arrest records and booking logs
• Traffic crash reports from county roads
• Criminal case files from the Circuit Clerk
• Sex offender data from the state registry
• Warrant information (limited access)

State highway crashes go through ISP. County road incidents are the sheriff's files. City crashes belong to the local police. Know which agency responded before you file your request. Sending it to the wrong office just creates delays.

Active warrants may not be fully public. The sheriff may confirm a warrant for a named person, but a complete list of outstanding warrants is not something they must release. Call the non-emergency line and ask. The court clerk may have related data tied to pending criminal cases.

Cities in Perry County

Pinckneyville is the county seat. Du Quoin is the other major community in Perry County. Cities with their own police forces handle their own records. All court cases from the county go through the Perry County Circuit Clerk in Pinckneyville. Contact the local police department first if the incident was inside city limits.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Perry County. Verify the incident location to make sure you contact the right county for records.