Having an arrest warrant is a serious matter that requires your immediate attention. In South Carolina, most arrest warrants are issued by a Magistrate Court judge. After the warrant has been signed, it becomes an active warrant that any law enforcement officer may execute. To find out if you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest, you should begin by searching the county court records.
Colleton County court records
Colleton County is in the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit for South Carolina. To look for court cases, including criminal cases and warrants, you can use the Public Index for Colleton County. This database provides information to the public about open and closed cases filed in Colleton County. Court records are maintained by the Clerk of Court and by the Magistrate Courts for Colleton County. If you need more information about a specific case you find online, you should contact the magistrate court or the Clerk of Court. There may be fees for copies of court records or records searches.
Warrant searches and outstanding warrants
Since the Sheriff’s Office handles serving outstanding warrants, the best place to conduct a warrant search in Colleton County is the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s staff maintains arrest records for all arrests and can perform a criminal background search for a fee. Due to privacy and security issues, you will not receive information regarding outstanding warrants by telephone. You will need to visit the office in person to request information about warrants, arrest records, and criminal histories.
Can you also access these judicial records and warrants data over the phone? (2021-update)
In-person visits to law enforcement and judicial offices reveal way more information than any call. However, some phone numbers might help you out:
- To find out about recent arrests call the Detention Center on (843) 549-5742.
- To learn about the possible arrest warrants against people you know, call the Sheriff’s Office on 843-549-2211.
- To get information on bench warrants and civil processes call on (843) 549-1964.
- To know about a criminal case (in which you are either the victim or the witness) call the Criminal Investigation Division on (843) 549-1203.
- To get in touch with Crime Stoppers of Colleton County, SC, use the toll-free number 1-888-274-6372.
- For Victim’s Assistance reach out to the Colleton County Victim’s Advocate on (843) 549-2211 ext. 2055.
- To access information on cases handled by the Magistrate’s Court, call on 843-549-1122. You can reach the Criminal and Traffic Court on 843-549-1140.
- For case records call the clerk of court’s office on 843-549-5791.
Colleton County, SC crime stats
In terms of property crimes, Colleton Police could have done better since the annual average of 2019 stood at 1143 incidents as opposed to 1120 complaints filed in 2018. However, the drop in violent crimes more than made up for this slight increase. As opposed to the annual figure of almost 290 in the previous years, 2019 saw about 250 cases of violent crimes.
Between 1999 and 2008, crime rates in Colleton County only increased by about ten percent. However, violent crimes rose by approximately forty-three percent for the same period. During this time, there were about 10,400 crimes reported in Colleton County, which averaged about one offense every five hours. Of those crimes committed, almost one-half of the crimes occurred less than one mile from the victim’s home.