Washington County Police Records

Washington County police records are kept by the Sheriff's Office and Circuit Clerk in Nashville, Illinois. This page explains how to request incident reports, search court records, and access state resources.

Washington County Sheriff Police Records

The Washington County Sheriff's Office is at 245 N Kaskaskia St., Nashville, IL 62263. Phone: (618) 327-8273. Email: 889@washingtonco.illinois.gov. The sheriff's website has department information and contact details. The sheriff covers law enforcement for all unincorporated areas in the county.

To get police records, you must submit a FOIA request. Put it in writing. Include the date, the names of those involved, and the kind of report you want. Brittany Bateman is the FOIA Officer for the sheriff's office. Send your request to the Kaskaskia Street address or email it. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/) gives you the right to request any public record.

The sheriff has five business days to respond. If they need more time, they can extend to ten business days with written notice. Most requests in a small county like Washington get handled within the standard window. The volume of FOIA requests here is not nearly as high as in the metro counties up north.

Fees match the state standard. Your first 50 pages are free. After that, black and white copies are $0.15 per page. Color copies cost more. Electronic copies may be cheaper or free depending on the format. Always ask up front so you know what to expect.

Washington County Circuit Clerk Records

Andrea Renken is the Washington County Circuit Clerk. The office is at 125 E. Elm Street, Nashville, IL 62263. Phone: (618) 327-4800. Email: andrea.renken@washingtonco.illinois.gov. The Circuit Clerk website covers court services and case access.

Court records in Washington County include criminal cases, civil actions, traffic violations, and small claims. The circuit clerk keeps all of them. If someone was arrested and charged in Washington County, the case file tracks everything from the initial charge through sentencing. This is a separate record from the police report. The report covers what happened. The court file covers what happened after the legal system got involved.

The screenshot below shows the Washington County Circuit Clerk's website.

Visit the Circuit Clerk site for details on court records and filing procedures.

The clerk's site lists contact details, office hours, and information about accessing records.

Washington County is part of the 4th Judicial Circuit. To search for a case, visit the office or call with a case number. The clerk can search by name too, but having the number helps. Certified copies cost extra. You will want certified copies if you need them for a legal matter. Regular copies work fine for personal reference.

Filing a FOIA Request in Washington County

The process is the same across Illinois. Write your request. Send it to the right agency. Wait for a response. The sheriff handles police reports. The circuit clerk handles court files. Each agency is its own public body under FOIA.

Be specific in your request. Provide names, dates, and locations when possible. A report number or case number will speed things up. Broad requests for "any and all records" can be denied as too burdensome. Keeping it focused means a faster turnaround.

Under the Criminal Identification Act (20 ILCS 2630/), not all records are open to the public. Arrest records that did not result in a conviction may be restricted. Sealed and expunged records cannot be released. Juvenile records are sealed under state law. Every denial comes with a written explanation citing the specific exemption.

You can appeal a denial. The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor reviews FOIA disputes at no cost. Most people do not need to go this route, but the option exists if you feel a request was wrongly turned down. The counselor's office looks at whether the agency followed the law and can issue a binding opinion.

State Police and Criminal History Checks

ISP Troop 8 covers Washington County. State troopers handle highway incidents and patrols on state routes. If a trooper wrote the report, you need to request it from ISP. The local sheriff's office will not have it. Use the ISP FOIA portal to submit your request online.

Crash reports from state highways cost $5 each by mail. Send your request to the Patrol Records Unit at 801 South 7th Street, Suite 600-M, Springfield, IL 62703. For crashes on county roads, contact the Washington County Sheriff instead.

Criminal background checks go through the CHIRP system at the ISP Bureau of Identification. The search costs $16 and returns only conviction data under the Uniform Conviction Information Act (20 ILCS 2635/). Non-conviction records are not included. To review your own record, use the free Access and Review process. Live Scan vendors handle fingerprint-based searches for a separate fee.

The Illinois Sex Offender Registry is open to the public at no charge. Search by name, address, or zip code at sor.isp.illinois.gov. The database covers all of Illinois and is maintained by the state police.

Nearby Counties

Washington County is in southwestern Illinois. If an incident was near a county line, verify the location before you send a request.

Perry and Monroe counties also share borders with Washington County.