In South Carolina, arrest warrants are issued by the Magistrate Court, which is also known by the name Summary Court. These judges hear or take written oaths by individuals and law enforcement officers stating facts to support that a crime has been committed. If the Magistrate finds probable cause to believe that a specific individual committed a crime, he will issue a warrant for arrest. The warrant is then given to law enforcement officers for service on the defendant. There are several sources to search for active arrest warrants in Aiken County.
Warrant searches and arrest records in Aiken County
If you know which Magistrate Court issued an arrest warrant, contacting that specific court is the best way to get information about active warrants. However, because there are several Magistrate Courts in Aiken County, you may need to begin searching court records online to find which court issued the original warrant. Aiken County is in the Second Judicial Circuit in South Carolina. The SC Judicial System has an online public where you can get information about current and closed criminal cases. You can narrow your search by case type and by action type to filter out civil cases to only search for warrants. If you need copies of court records, you must contact the Aiken County Clerk of Court to request copies.
Another source for searching outstanding warrants is the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office is charged with serving warrants; therefore, it maintains arrest records for those warrants. In addition to information about warrants, you can view a list of the most wanted fugitives and get information about criminal history reports.
Is it possible to initiate a warrant search or find arrest records from Aiken over the phone (2021 information)?
- Contacting the Records divisions on the phone: You can call them at (803) 642-1772, from Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. They will not answer your calls on county holidays. Having said that, the Records Division offers limited information over the phone. In fact, for the better part, they expect you to call only to learn more about the status of a warrant search/ criminal history inquiry that you have formally requested.
- Contacting the Detention Center: Unlike the Records Division, the officers at the County Jail will entertain questions pertaining to currently lodged inmates. You can call them on (803) 716-8518 to find out about the charges and bond-related details pertaining to a specific arrestee.
The contact information and phone numbers listed above are current as of March 2021.
Crime in Aiken County, SC
In terms of the overall crime scene, Aiken County has only managed to log in moderate improvement from 2018 to 2019. So, while there was a decrease in the number of most violent crime categories, the rate of aggravated assault went through the roof, showing an increase of almost 40%, from 435 to well over 600 complaints. Fortunately, the drop in property crimes did help to allay the concerns of residents to some extent.
Aiken County ranked in the bottom third for crime rates when compared to nine other counties. During this 8-year period from 2001 through 2008, there were approximately 35,840 crimes committed in Aiken County. Overall, crime rates increased by about 81%, with violent crimes increasing slightly more (85%).