Find Arrest Records in Dauphin County

Dauphin County arrest records are available through the county courthouse, the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System portal, and the state PATCH database. Harrisburg, the state capital, serves as the county seat, and the main courthouse sits at 101 Market Street. Dauphin County is home to the Pennsylvania State Police headquarters, which makes it a central hub for statewide criminal record keeping. This guide walks you through every method to search for Dauphin County arrest records, from online lookups to in-person requests.

Dauphin County Sheriff and Arrest Records

The Dauphin County Sheriff's Department makes arrest records available to the public. Records can be viewed in person or obtained through a written request. Each record typically contains the subject's name, date of birth, gender, height, weight, and physical characteristics. Arrest details include the date, time, and location of arrest, the name of the arresting officer, and the jail facility where the person was held.

Warrant information is also available through the Sheriff's Office. The department is located in Room 104 of the Dauphin County Courthouse at 101 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101. You can reach them by phone at (717) 780-6590. The Sheriff's Department also maintains an online arrest record search tool, which is free to use. Visit dauphinrecords.us/arrest-records to search arrest records for Dauphin County online.

The Sheriff's online portal lets you search by name and view booking details for Dauphin County arrests without visiting the courthouse.

Dauphin County Court Records

The Clerk of Courts at the Dauphin County Courthouse handles criminal case records for the Court of Common Pleas. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. You can reach the main courthouse line at (717) 780-6500. Criminal dockets are also accessible online through the statewide UJS Web Portal, which lets you search by attorney name, participant name, docket number, incident number, or citation number.

Multiple Magisterial District Courts serve Dauphin County. Each MDJ handles preliminary hearings, summary offenses, and other lower-level criminal matters. Their records feed into the same UJS portal, so you can search all Dauphin County court levels from one place. Court calendars showing upcoming hearings are published online as well. Civil dockets, including lawsuits and small claims, are also available through the portal for Dauphin County.

Note: Free online searches through the UJS portal show docket information only. Certified copies of court documents must be obtained from the Dauphin County Clerk of Courts in person or by mail.

Real-Time Police Activity in Dauphin County

Dauphin County offers a WebCAD system that shows real-time police activity and incident reports. The system is free to access and updates directly from dispatch. You can filter results by date, municipality, or incident type. Recent arrests and law enforcement responses are visible through the tool, along with incident locations. This is useful if you want current activity rather than archived records.

The WebCAD system includes municipal-specific filtering. Harrisburg, Steelton, and other towns in Dauphin County can be searched separately. For archived incident data or official arrest records, the Sheriff's Department and court records remain the authoritative source. Visit dauphinrecords.us for both the WebCAD tool and other Dauphin County records resources.

The WebCAD portal shows live dispatch activity and can help confirm whether a recent arrest occurred in Dauphin County before searching the court dockets.

Pennsylvania PATCH and State Police Records

The Pennsylvania State Police headquarters is located in Dauphin County, making this county a key part of the statewide records system. All Dauphin County arrest records are included in the PATCH database at epatch.state.pa.us. A standard criminal history check costs $22. If you need a notarized copy, there is an additional fee on top of the base charge.

You can also request a PATCH check by mail using Form SP 4-164. Send it to the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository, 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9758. Results from PATCH include arrests from all Pennsylvania counties, so if a person has a history outside Dauphin County, it will show up in a PATCH report. Local departments in Dauphin County include the Harrisburg Police Department, Steelton Police, and several other municipal agencies.

The Pennsylvania State Police agency page at pa.gov/agencies/psp links to PATCH, sex offender registries, and other tools relevant to Dauphin County arrest record searches.

Right-to-Know Requests in Dauphin County

Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law at openrecords.pa.gov gives you the right to request public records from government agencies. In Dauphin County, you submit a written request to the Open Records Officer of the specific agency that holds the record. The agency must respond within five business days, though extensions are allowed for complex requests.

If a request is denied, you can appeal to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records. Some records are exempt under the Right-to-Know Law, including certain investigative files and records that would harm an ongoing prosecution. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9101, the Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act sets separate rules for how criminal records in Dauphin County and across the state must be handled, stored, and shared with the public.

For inmates held in state facilities after conviction, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections inmate locator at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov is a free tool that covers all state prisons. For those held at the Dauphin County jail before trial or on a county sentence, contact the county jail directly.

Nearby Pennsylvania Counties

Dauphin County borders several counties in central Pennsylvania. If you are unsure which county holds the records you need, the links below will take you to the right page for each neighboring county.

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