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  1. Lee County Court
  2. Lee County Arrest Records

Lee County, Florida Arrest Records

Lee County arrest records are documents created by law enforcement agencies that document a person being taken into custody. They include the booking details, charges, and the custody status (still detained or released). Arrest records serve public interest by allowing public monitoring of law enforcement activity. An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty, only that they were detained in a facility.

Florida Public Records Law (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes) mandates that records created or filed by public agencies, including arrest records, are open for public inspection and copying unless otherwise restricted by law. Chapter 943, Florida Statutes, further governs the retention and dissemination of criminal records. The custodians of arrest records are the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) and city police departments like the Fort Myers Police Department and Cape Coral Police Department. Each agency maintains its arrest record and has its own requirements before granting records requests.

Not all arrest records are open for public access. The name of the arrestee, booking information, the arresting agency, and bail or bond information are publicly available. Juvenile records, victim information, witness information, and sealed and expunged records, on the other hand, are not publicly available.

Are Arrest Records Public Information in Lee, Florida?

Yes, arrest records are public in Lee County, Florida, according to the Florida Public Records Law Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. The law says that records created or maintained by the government are open to public inspection and copying. Florida law further specifies the handling of criminal records, especially by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). In-person access to arrest records usually requires a valid form of ID in Florida, but each law enforcement agency has its own specific requirements for giving access to its arrest records. Arrest records are open to everyone, not only residents of Lee County. Depending on the agency and the means of access to the records, fees may apply to access arrest records or get a certified copy of said records. 

What Do Public County Arrest Records Contain?

A public county arrest record typically contains the following: 

  • Arrestee’s full name
  • Arrestee’s physical description (e.g., race, sex, height, weight)
  • Inmate ID
  • Inmate’s home address
  • Booking information
  • Arrestee’s date of birth
  • Arrestee’s mugshot
  • Description of the charges 
  • Arresting agency
  • Bail/bond information
  • Court dates
  • Status of arrest

Not all information in an arrest record is public. Under F.S. § 985.04, juvenile records are not open for the general public to access.

Lee County, Florida Arrest Search

When searching for arrest records in Lee County, there are resources available for searching at the state and federal levels. 

  • State arrest search: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) maintains a criminal history search portal, which is the state's repository for criminal records. Individuals can perform instant searches, certified searches, and an ORI (Originating Agency Identifier) number search on the platform. It costs $24.00 to perform a search using this tool.
  • Federal arrest record search: The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which serves as the primary law enforcement agency at the federal level, has several tools for finding arrest records and criminal histories. The Identity History Summary Checks (Rap Sheets) allow a search of public arrest records reported by the FBI. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator also allows individuals to search for arrest records of people currently or previously held in federal prisons.

Lee County Inmate Locator

The Lee County Sheriff's Office maintains a booking search tool for anyone to search for records of inmates who were recently booked or released from the Lee County jail. The search can be conducted using any of the inmate's names (first, middle, or last), date of birth, booking number, case status (whether in custody), and a booking date range. The inmate locator shows up-to-date incarceration records and those released within the past few days. To perform an in-person inmate locator search, individuals can contact the sheriff's office that oversees the Lee County Jail. The contact information for the sheriff's office is as follows:

Lee County Sheriff’s Office  

14750 Six Mile Cypress Parkway

Fort Myers, FL 33912

Main Phone: (239) 477‘1000

Jail / Corrections: (239) 477‘1700

The Lee County inmate locator only shows results of local arrests. It does not include results of arrests made by federal agents, arrests made for other counties' jails, sealed or expunged records, or juvenile arrest records.

Active Warrant Search in Lee County

An arrest warrant in Lee County is a legal document given to law enforcement officers by the court, authorizing them to take a named individual into custody. Arrest warrants are usually issued when probable cause that the crime was committed has been established. Other reasons why an arrest warrant can be issued are failure to appear in court or violating parole. 

An arrest warrant search is the inquiry about the existence or status of a warrant issued against a named individual. Information typically contained in a public arrest warrant includes the following:

  • the name or description of the person to be arrested
  • the reason for the arrest (offense) and the statute or law backing the arrest
  • the issuing court and the judge's signature

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) executes arrest warrants within the county as its primary law enforcement agency. Local police departments may also act on warrants, but all warrant information is maintained by the sheriff's office. There is no online database for looking up warrant information in Lee County, but individuals interested in these records can contact the warrants division of the sheriff's office. As warrants are court-issued, individuals can also make inquiries about warrants from the Lee County Clerk of Court's Office.

How to Find Arrest Records for Free in Lee County

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office maintains a free tool for finding summarized arrest records. The  Lee County Sheriff’s Office Arrest Search allows people to look up arrest records of people currently or recently booked into or released from the county's jail. It is updated frequently and does not require an ID to use. It is also possible to visit the sheriff's office or the local police departments (such as the Fort Myers Police Department and the Cape Coral Police Department) to confirm and make other public information requests. Fees may, however, apply to making copies of the request or getting certified copies of the arrest record. 

Although it is possible to get access to arrest records for free, free tools are limited in scope and extent of the information they can offer. Sensitive information is redacted, and the free tool is usually limited to showing recent bookings and releases only, and not historical records. Searchers need to have some data about the case, such as the arrestee's name and case number, to complete an arrest. 

Lee County Arrest Report

Although they sound similar, arrest records and arrest reports differ in use and function. An arrest record is an entry into the booking system of a jail or law enforcement agency that details an individual being taken and held in custody. It is maintained by the primary law enforcement agency in the county, which is the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It primarily provides information on whether a person was arrested and the status of that arrest. Arrest Reports, on the other hand, are narrative reports made by the arresting officer after they make an arrest to give their account of the incident. They primarily support arrest records and inform the prosecution of the case. The arresting agency maintains the report of the arrest. 

How to Get an Arrest Record Expunged in Lee County

Expunction is the legal removal of an arrest case from a person's criminal history. An expunction occurs when the law enforcement agency physically destroys copies of the arrest records. A copy of expunged records is, however, maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). 

Florida Statutes § 943.0585 governs expunction and describes the eligibility criteria an arrest has to meet before it is expunged. The eligibility criteria include: 

  • The arrest charge was dismissed or entered as nolle prosequi by the state attorney or statewide prosecutor.
  • The charging document was not filed
  • The arrestee has no prior convictions or expungements
  • The record is a juvenile record (special provisions exist according to F.S. § 943.0582)

The process for expunging a record is as follows:

  • The individual fills out and submits an expunction application to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
  • Request the Lee County Circuit Court to issue a certified court order granting the expunction
  • Submit a fingerprint card to the FDLE and pay the processing fee of $75 to expunge the record
  • Get a certificate of eligibility from the FDLE  and send it to the court as part of the petition for expunction
  • The court grants the expunction, and the expunction order is sent to necessary agencies like the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Clerk of Court for the records to be destroyed. 

Under certain circumstances, such as if the arrestee pleaded guilty or if they have received a withholding of adjudication and if the crime was not serious, the arrest can be sealed, not expunged. Sealing is the removal of an arrest record from general public access as governed by the Florida Statutes § 943.059. Sealing is not available for sexual offenses and violent felonies.

How Do You Remove Lee County Arrest Records From the Internet?

The legal methods for removing records in Florida are through an expunction and through sealing. When an expunction order is granted, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Clerk of Court, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) are required to comply and restrict access to the record on their online lookup tools. Private third parties are not required by law to remove access to these records, but individuals can submit removal requests to them for the arrest record to be removed from their websites.