Madera County Recent Arrests
Madera County recent arrest records are published on the county's inmate public view portal. Located in the San Joaquin Valley between Fresno and Merced, Madera County processes all jail bookings through the Madera County Department of Corrections. The county runs an online system where you can search for people currently in custody at the Madera County Jail. Booking data is free to view. The portal shows names, charges, booking dates, and bail information. Arrests from the sheriff's office, Madera Police Department, Chowchilla Police, and other local agencies all go through the same county jail.
Madera County Quick Facts
Madera County Inmate Public View
The Madera County Inmate Public View is the main online tool for searching recent arrest and custody data. The portal is run by the Madera County Department of Corrections. You can look up people currently held at the county jail. Each record shows the inmate's name, booking number, charges, and bail amount. The system is free to use. No registration is needed. Just go to the site and search by name or browse the current inmate list.
Madera County is a mid-sized county in the central part of the state. The city of Madera is the county seat and largest population center. Chowchilla is the other notable city, known for hosting two state prisons (Central California Women's Facility and Valley State Prison). People at state prisons are not in the county system. The inmate public view portal only shows people held at the Madera County Jail on local charges. For state prison inmates, use the CDCR database.
The Madera County Department of Corrections provides an inmate public view portal for searching booking data.
This portal shows current inmates at the Madera County Jail with booking details and charges.
How Madera County Arrests Work
When a person is arrested in Madera County, they are transported to the county jail for booking. The booking process involves fingerprinting, a photograph, and entry of personal details into the corrections system. Charges get logged with the applicable code sections. Bail is set using the Madera County bail schedule, which follows guidelines from the Madera County Superior Court. Once the booking is complete, the record shows up on the inmate public view portal.
Multiple agencies feed into the Madera County jail. The Madera County Sheriff's Office covers the largest geographic area. The Madera Police Department handles the city of Madera. Chowchilla PD covers that city. The CHP makes arrests on highways and rural roads throughout the county. All of these agencies book their arrests through the same county jail. The arresting agency gets noted in the booking record, so you can see who made the arrest when you look up the record.
Note: Booking records from Madera County may take a few hours to appear on the portal after the person is processed at the jail.
Madera County Arrest Record Access
California law makes Madera County arrest records public. Government Code Section 7923.610 requires every law enforcement agency in the state to release specific booking information. This includes the name, occupation, physical description, date of birth, arrest and booking times, arrest location, circumstances, bail, and all charges for every person booked. Madera County complies with this law through its online portal and through the sheriff's records office.
For records not available on the inmate public view portal, you can submit a Public Records Act request to the Madera County Sheriff's Office. This covers older arrest records, booking documents, and other public records. The county has ten days to respond under state law. Copy fees are usually ten cents per page. Electronic records may be free. If the request involves records from an active investigation, some information may be withheld under the law enforcement investigative exemption.
Madera County also has a corrections department that maintains its own records. For questions about a person's custody status, sentence, or release date, contact the corrections department directly. They have information that may not appear on the public portal, such as projected release dates and classification details.
Sealing Arrest Records in Madera County
If an arrest in Madera County did not lead to a conviction, the person may be able to get the record sealed. Penal Code Section 851.87 allows a petition to the Madera County Superior Court. The court can order the arrest record sealed. After that, the person can legally say they were not arrested for the charge. Sealed records do not show up in most background checks or public searches.
California's automatic arrest relief program also applies to Madera County. The Department of Justice reviews arrest records each month and identifies cases eligible for automatic sealing under Penal Code Section 851.93. Misdemeanor arrests where the charges were dismissed or where no case was filed within a year qualify for this program. Madera County residents do not need to file anything. The DOJ handles it on its own.
State Tools for Madera County
Two state-level databases help when searching for arrest or inmate records tied to Madera County. The California DOJ Record Review lets you check your own criminal history across the entire state. It costs $25 and you need to get Live Scan fingerprints. Madera County has Live Scan sites at the sheriff's office and local police departments. After fingerprinting, the DOJ processes the request and mails back a report of your arrests and convictions statewide.
The CIRIS inmate search from CDCR is particularly relevant in Madera County because of the state prisons located there. The Central California Women's Facility and Valley State Prison are both in Chowchilla. CIRIS lets you search for anyone in the state prison system by name or CDCR number. The results include the inmate's current facility, admission date, and parole hearing dates. This database is free and open to the public. It does not include people held at the Madera County Jail.
VINE victim notification is available at 877-411-5588. Register to get alerts when an inmate's custody status changes in Madera County or anywhere in California.
What Madera County Booking Records Show
Booking records from the Madera County Jail typically include these details:
- Full name and date of birth
- Physical description
- Booking date, time, and number
- Charges with penal code sections
- Bail amount
- Arresting agency
- Custody status
Booking charges are based on what the arresting officer filed at the time. They are preliminary. The Madera County District Attorney reviews each case and decides what to actually prosecute. Charges can be dropped, added, or changed. The booking record is a snapshot of the arrest, not the final outcome. An arrest in Madera County does not mean the person was convicted. Many arrests end without a conviction, especially for lesser offenses where the DA declines to file charges.
If you are checking someone's record for employment or housing purposes, keep in mind that California has laws limiting how arrest records can be used. Employers cannot ask about arrests that did not result in conviction in most situations. The booking record from the Madera County Jail should be viewed as preliminary information only.
Nearby Counties
Madera County borders several other California counties. Check their arrest records with these links: