Beaufort County, SC Arrest Records and Warrants

South Carolina Arrest Records and Warrant Search

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In Beaufort County, SC, an officer may arrest a person with or without an active warrant. However, if the crime is a misdemeanor, the officer must witness the crime to arrest without a warrant. To obtain a warrant, an officer must first appear before a magistrate and swear out the warrant by submitting a written complaint alleging the facts surrounding the crime. If the Magistrate finds probable cause exists, he will issue the warrant for the defendant’s arrest. To search arrest records and outstanding warrants in Beaufort County, you will need to begin your search with the Magistrate’s Court.

Beaufort County arrest records and warrants.

Because there are several Magistrate Courts that have jurisdiction in Beaufort County, locating the correct court to perform a warrant search may be tricky unless you know the judge that signed the warrant. However, you can narrow this search by using the Public Index system for Beaufort County. This case records website provides information about civil and criminal cases filed in Beaufort County. You can narrow your search by case type and action type to find warrants. Once you know which court issued the warrant, it is easier to obtain detailed information about the warrant from that specific court.

If an arrest warrant has been transferred from the Magistrate Court to the Circuit Court, you must contact the General Sessions division of the Clerk of Court for Beaufort County to obtain copies or detailed information about the case.

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office

If you are searching for information on a current inmate, you may use the online inmate inquiry to search by name or prisoner identification number. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has a list of the most wanted fugitives on its website, including photos and charges. If you need information about outstanding warrants, contact the Warrants Section of the Sheriff’s Office.

 

How do you get information on Beaufort County arrests and warrants over the phone in 2021?

  • Calling the Clerk of Court’s Office: If you are looking for information about a felony case, you will have to contact the General Sessions Division of the Clerk of Court’s Office. The phone number of this division is (843)255-5057.
  • Getting in touch with the Magistrate’s Court: If your interest lies in finding out exclusively about arrest warrants, you will likely get this information from the Magistrate’s Court that handles preliminary hearings. You can get in touch with them at (843) 255-5700.
  • Getting in touch with the Magistrate’s Court for case-related information: If the criminal case that interests you has passed the stage of warrant-issue, but the matter pertains to a misdemeanor offense, you can get in touch with the North Division of the Central Court at (843) 255-5700 and with the South Division on (843) 255-5610.
  • Contacting the Sheriff’s Office: Although the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has a list of outstanding warrants on its website, they are not too keen on providing information on arrest orders over the phone. However, since the agency has details on all arrests and warrants, it would be worth your time to call them at their Main (North) Office on 843-255-3200 or their Hilton Head Office (South) on 843-255-3300.
  • Calling the Detention Center: Inmate information is also made available to the public through the website of the County Jail. However, you can get in touch with Jail Administration on (843) 255-5200 for details on recent arrests.

(All phone numbers and links are current as of 2021)

 

Crime statistics for Beaufort County, SC

Almost 4000 criminal cases were filed with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office in 2019. As far as the law and order situation went, both property and violent crimes showing a drop across all but one category.

While 2019 also brought in 10 homicide cases as the preceding year, there was a drop in the rate of aggravated assault ( from 643 to 531) and in occurrences of sexual battery (from 77 to 64). In contrast, there was a marked rise in instances of robbery (from 79 to 122).

Crime rates increased by over 80% in Beaufort County from 2002 to 2008. The sharpest increase in crime occurred between 2003 and 2004 when the rate of crime more than tripled. There were approximately 35,160 crimes reported during the 8-year period, with above 15% of the crimes being considered violent.