Search Randolph County Police Records

Randolph County police records are kept by the Sheriff's Office and the Circuit Clerk in Chester, Illinois. These records cover arrest logs, incident reports, crash data, and court case filings from across the county. Residents and the public can search for police records through FOIA requests sent to the Randolph County Sheriff or by looking up court cases at the Circuit Clerk office. The county sits in southern Illinois along the Mississippi River and falls under ISP Troop 10 for state patrol matters. Both local and state law shape how police records get released here, with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act giving the public a clear right to ask for most records.

Randolph County Sheriff's Office Records

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement agency for the unincorporated parts of the county and handles police records requests. The office sits at 200 W. Buena Vista Street in Chester. You can call them at 618-826-5484 or send an email to rcso@randolphco.org. The sheriff keeps arrest reports, incident logs, booking records, and crash reports that involve deputies. If you want a copy of any police record from the sheriff, you need to file a FOIA request.

Randolph County has a dedicated FOIA page on the county website. The FOIA contact email is foia79@randolphcountyil.gov. You can also send your written request by mail to #1 Taylor Street, Room 206, Chester, IL 62233. Under 5 ILCS 140, the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, all public bodies must respond to requests within five business days. That window can stretch to ten days if the office needs more time, but they have to tell you why. The first 50 pages of black and white copies come at no charge. After that, the fee is 15 cents per page.

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office also posts updates on its Facebook page. These posts sometimes include press releases about arrests and notable incidents. While this is not a formal records portal, it can help you find case details and then request the full police record through FOIA.

The sheriff's office provides the following Randolph County police records through FOIA on the county's portal.

Keep in mind that some police records in Randolph County may be partly blacked out. Open investigations, juvenile cases, and personal info like Social Security numbers are exempt under FOIA. If your request gets denied, the sheriff must tell you which exemption applies. You have the right to appeal that denial to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor.

Randolph County Circuit Clerk Records

The Randolph County Circuit Clerk handles all court records tied to criminal cases in the county. Julie A. Carnahan serves as Circuit Clerk. The office is at #1 Taylor Street, Room 302, Chester, IL 62233. You can reach them by phone at 618-826-5000 or email jcarnahan@randolphcountyil.gov. Court records include criminal case filings, traffic tickets, misdemeanor and felony charges, and case dispositions. These records are public and you can view them at the clerk's office during business hours.

You can also visit the Randolph County Circuit Clerk website for more details on how to look up court records. The office can search by name or case number. If you need a certified copy of a court record from Randolph County, expect to pay a small fee. Bring your ID when you visit. The clerk's office is part of the broader Illinois court system and follows rules set by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.

The Circuit Clerk's online portal for Randolph County provides basic case search tools and contact details.

Note: Criminal case records at the Randolph County Circuit Clerk may take a few days to process if you request copies by mail.

State Police Records for Randolph County

The Illinois State Police also maintain records that cover Randolph County. ISP Troop 10 operates out of Du Quoin and Ullin and patrols the highways and state routes in the area. Crash reports from state roads in Randolph County go to ISP, not the local sheriff. You can request these through the ISP FOIA page or by mail to Illinois State Police, 801 South 7th Street, Suite 1000-S, Springfield, IL 62703. Crash reports cost $5 each.

For criminal history checks that involve Randolph County residents, the ISP Bureau of Identification in Joliet is the central source. They run the CHIRP system, which lets you do name-based criminal history searches. Only conviction data gets released to the public under the Uniform Conviction Information Act, 20 ILCS 2635. Arrest records that did not lead to a conviction are not part of the public file. You can also check the Sex Offender Registry for any registered offenders in Randolph County at no cost.

If you need your own criminal history from Randolph County or anywhere in Illinois, visit any Live Scan fingerprint vendor and ask for an Access and Review. ISP does not charge for this, though the vendor may have a processing fee. Results get mailed to you. The record challenge form comes with the results if you need to fix an error.

How to Get Police Records in Randolph County

There are a few ways to get police records in Randolph County. The path you take depends on what type of record you need and how fast you want it.

For arrest reports and incident logs from the sheriff, send a FOIA request by email to foia79@randolphcountyil.gov. Put "FOIA Request" in the subject line. Be specific about what you want. Include the date of the incident, the names of people involved, and the case or report number if you have it. Vague requests take longer to fill and may get denied as too broad. The Illinois State Police recommends this same approach for all FOIA requests across the state.

• Email FOIA request to foia79@randolphcountyil.gov
• Mail written request to #1 Taylor Street, Room 206, Chester, IL 62233
• Visit the Circuit Clerk at Room 302 for court case records
• Call the Sheriff at 618-826-5484 for general questions
• Request ISP crash reports by mail for $5 each

In-person visits to the Randolph County courthouse work well if you know what you want. The clerk can pull up records fast when you give a case number. Walk-in hours are standard business hours on weekdays. For state-level records, the ISP FOIA Officer can be reached at ISP.FOIA.Officer@illinois.gov. Payment for any fees must be by check or money order since ISP does not take credit or debit cards.

Police Record Types in Randolph County

Randolph County police records fall into several groups. Each type comes from a different source and has its own rules for public access.

Arrest reports are the most common request. These show the name of the person arrested, the date, the charges, and a short account of what happened. The Randolph County Sheriff creates these for arrests made by deputies. City police in Chester and other towns make their own arrest reports, which you would request from those departments directly. Incident reports cover calls for service where no arrest was made. These include things like theft reports, accident responses, and disturbance calls across Randolph County.

Court records from the Circuit Clerk show the full legal process after charges get filed. You can see the charging documents, plea entries, trial dates, and final outcomes. Conviction records from Randolph County also feed into the state database that ISP maintains. Under the Criminal Identification Act, 20 ILCS 2630, law enforcement agencies must report arrests and dispositions to ISP. This means the state often has a copy of what the county has, but the local records may have more detail about the specific incident.

Note: Sealed or expunged records in Randolph County will not show up in public searches at the Circuit Clerk or through ISP.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Randolph County or sit close by in southern Illinois. If you are not sure which county handles a police record, check the address where the incident took place. Each county keeps its own records.