Find Inyo County Arrest Records
Inyo County recent arrest records are accessible through the sheriff's CitizenRIMS portal. This vast Eastern Sierra county, home to Death Valley and the Owens Valley, is one of the least populated counties in California. Despite its size, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office maintains an online system where the public can view booking bulletins and arrest information. The county jail in Independence handles all local bookings. You can search for recent arrests and check who is currently in custody without any fees through the online portal.
Inyo County Quick Facts
Inyo County Sheriff CitizenRIMS Portal
The Inyo County Sheriff's CitizenRIMS portal is where you go to look up recent arrest information. The system posts bulletins about arrests and bookings at the Inyo County Jail. You can view the latest entries without creating an account. Each bulletin includes the name of the person arrested, the charges, and the booking date. CitizenRIMS is a third-party system used by several California counties. It provides a clean, easy to navigate interface for checking booking data.
Inyo County is the second-largest county in California by land area but one of the smallest by population. The jail in Independence does not see the high volume of bookings that urban counties deal with. On a given day, there may be only a handful of new entries. This makes it relatively easy to browse the full list of recent arrests without needing to search by name. The portal is useful for anyone trying to confirm whether someone was booked into the Inyo County Jail.
The Inyo County Sheriff's CitizenRIMS portal provides public access to arrest bulletins and booking information.
This system displays booking bulletins from the Inyo County Jail in Independence, California.
Searching Inyo County Booking Records
To find a specific person in the Inyo County booking system, visit the CitizenRIMS portal and browse the available bulletins. The list shows recent bookings in chronological order. Click on any entry to see the full details, including charges and arrest circumstances. If the person you are looking for does not appear, they may have been released, transferred, or arrested in a neighboring county. Inyo County covers a huge geographic area. Some arrests happen near the borders with Kern County, Mono County, or San Bernardino County, and the person could end up booked in one of those facilities instead.
For older Inyo County arrest records that are no longer on the portal, you can contact the sheriff's office directly. Written records requests can be submitted by mail or in person at the sheriff's office in Independence. The county follows the California Public Records Act, so they have ten days to respond. Basic booking information is public. The California Government Code Section 7923.610 spells out exactly what arrest data must be disclosed.
Note: The CitizenRIMS portal may not show entries for people arrested by federal agencies operating in Inyo County, including National Park Service rangers in Death Valley.
Inyo County Jail and Booking Process
The Inyo County Jail is in Independence. It is a small facility. People arrested anywhere in the county get transported to this jail for booking. That can mean a long drive given the county's size. Arrests near Lone Pine, Bishop, or even the Death Valley area all go through the same booking process in Independence. The jail staff handles fingerprinting, photographs, and data entry for each booking. Charges get logged and bail gets set according to the county bail schedule.
Because Inyo County is so remote, jail capacity is limited. Overcrowding is less of an issue here than in big counties, but the distance to the jail can slow the booking process down. Someone arrested in the northern part of the county near Bishop might take a while to arrive at the jail in Independence. Once booked, the record shows up on the CitizenRIMS portal. You can call the Inyo County Sheriff's Office to ask about a person's custody status if you do not see them listed online.
Arrest Record Laws for Inyo County
California law requires the Inyo County Sheriff's Office to make booking information available to the public. Government Code Section 7923.610 lists the specific data that must be shared: full name, occupation, physical description, date of birth, arrest and booking times, arrest location, circumstances, bail amount, and charges. Inyo County meets this obligation through its CitizenRIMS portal. The law has a narrow exception for cases where disclosure would put someone in danger or harm an ongoing investigation.
People who were arrested in Inyo County but not convicted can seek to have the record sealed. Penal Code Section 851.87 covers the petition process. Once sealed, the person can state they were never arrested for that charge. California also has an automatic arrest relief program that reviews eligible records monthly. Misdemeanor arrests where charges were dismissed or where no proceedings were filed within a year may qualify for automatic sealing.
Note: Federal arrests made in Inyo County by National Park Service or BLM law enforcement follow federal rules, not California's disclosure laws.
State Resources for Inyo County
The California DOJ Record Review is an option for Inyo County residents who want to check their own criminal history. It costs $25 and requires Live Scan fingerprints. Given the remote location of Inyo County, finding a Live Scan site may take some effort. The sheriff's office in Independence or local law enforcement in Bishop can help with this. The DOJ sends the results by mail.
CDCR's CIRIS database covers inmates in the state prison system. If someone arrested in Inyo County was later sentenced to state prison, CIRIS will show their current location and status. Search by name or CDCR number. It does not include people held at the Inyo County Jail. For victim notifications, VINE is available statewide at 877-411-5588.
Inyo County Booking Record Details
A booking record from the Inyo County Jail contains these standard fields:
- Full name and date of birth
- Physical description
- Arrest date and booking date
- Charges with code sections
- Bail amount
- Arresting agency
- Custody status
The arresting agency field is worth noting in Inyo County. Arrests can be made by the sheriff, Bishop Police, California Highway Patrol, or even federal agencies. Each gets processed the same way at the county jail. An arrest record is not the same as a conviction. Charges may change during the court process. Some entries on the booking log represent people who are later released without charges being filed.
Nearby Counties
Inyo County borders several other California counties. Check their arrest records if the person may have been booked elsewhere: