Kings County Arrest Records
Kings County recent arrest records can be searched through the sheriff's inmate locator. Located in the San Joaquin Valley, Kings County is an agricultural county with its seat in Hanford. The Kings County Sheriff's Office runs an online inmate locator where you can look up people currently in custody at the Kings County Jail. Booking information is public under California law. The locator shows names, charges, booking dates, and bail amounts. Whether the arrest was made by the sheriff, Hanford Police, or another agency, all bookings flow through the same county jail system.
Kings County Quick Facts
Kings County Inmate Locator
The Kings County Inmate Locator is the primary tool for checking recent arrests and who is in custody. The website lets you search by name to find people held at the Kings County Jail. Results show the inmate's name, booking number, charges, and bail information. The locator is free and available around the clock. You do not need to create an account or log in. Just type a name and search. The system pulls from the jail's current records, so it reflects real-time custody data.
Kings County processes arrests from several agencies. The Kings County Sheriff's Office covers unincorporated areas and smaller communities. The Hanford Police Department handles the largest city. Lemoore, Corcoran, and Avenal also have police departments that book people into the county jail. The state prison in Corcoran (California State Prison, Corcoran) is separate from the county system. People held at the state prison do not show up in the Kings County Inmate Locator. For state inmates, use the CIRIS database instead.
The Kings County Sheriff's inmate locator provides online access to current jail booking data.
This tool lets you search for inmates currently held at the Kings County Jail in Hanford.
How Kings County Booking Works
The booking process in Kings County follows the same pattern as other California counties. When a person is arrested, the officer transports them to the Kings County Jail in Hanford. At the jail, staff fingerprint the person, take a booking photograph, collect personal items, and enter all arrest details into the system. The charges are logged with their penal code sections. Bail gets set based on the county schedule. After this process is complete, the booking record becomes available through the inmate locator.
Processing time varies. A straightforward booking can take a couple of hours. More complicated cases where the person has outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions or needs medical clearance can take longer. Once booked, the person stays in custody until they post bail, get released by court order, or serve their time. The inmate locator updates when any of these status changes happen.
Note: Kings County booking records may show multiple charges from different incidents if the person has outstanding warrants at the time of arrest.
Kings County Arrest Record Access
California's public records laws make Kings County arrest information accessible to anyone. Government Code Section 7923.610 lists the booking details that must be shared. These include the person's name, occupation, physical description, date of birth, arrest and booking dates, arrest location, charges, bail, and release status. Kings County complies with this law through its online inmate locator and through phone and in-person requests at the sheriff's office.
For records beyond what the inmate locator shows, you can file a Public Records Act request with the Kings County Sheriff's Office. This works for older arrest records or for copies of booking documents. The county has ten days to respond. Standard copy fees apply, usually ten cents per page. Electronic copies may be free. If the record involves an active investigation, parts of it may be withheld under the investigative exemption in California law.
Sealing Kings County Arrest Records
If an arrest in Kings County did not result in a conviction, the person may qualify to have the record sealed. Penal Code Section 851.87 allows petitions to seal arrest records in these situations. The petition goes to the Kings County Superior Court. If granted, the record gets sealed and the person can legally say they were not arrested for that charge. This affects what shows up in background checks and public databases.
California also offers automatic arrest record relief. The Department of Justice reviews records each month and identifies arrests that qualify for automatic sealing. Eligible cases include misdemeanor arrests where charges were dismissed or where no case was filed within a year. This program has been running since the passage of AB 1076. Kings County residents do not need to take any action for automatic relief. The DOJ handles it behind the scenes.
State Search Tools for Kings County
Two statewide resources are useful when searching for arrest or custody records connected to Kings County. The California DOJ Record Review lets you request your own criminal history from across all California jurisdictions. The cost is $25 and requires Live Scan fingerprints. Kings County has Live Scan sites at the sheriff's office and local police departments. The DOJ mails you a report of all your arrests and convictions in the state.
CDCR's CIRIS inmate search is important in Kings County because of the state prisons located here. California State Prison, Corcoran and Avenal State Prison are both in Kings County. CIRIS lets you search for anyone in the state prison system by name or CDCR number. Results include the inmate's current facility, admission date, and parole hearing schedule. This tool is free and separate from the county's inmate locator. For victim notifications across both county and state facilities, call VINE at 877-411-5588.
Kings County Booking Data Fields
Each booking at the Kings County Jail creates a record with these data points:
- Full name and known aliases
- Date of birth
- Booking date, time, and number
- Charges with code sections
- Bail amount
- Arresting agency
- Current custody status
Remember that charges at booking are based on what the arresting officer filed. They can change later. The district attorney decides what charges to actually prosecute, and those may differ from the initial booking charges. An arrest record from Kings County is not a conviction record. It shows what happened at the time of booking, not the final outcome of the case.
Nearby Counties
Kings County is surrounded by several other California counties. Check their booking records with these links: