Summary Courts, also known as Magistrate Courts, issue the majority of arrest warrants for Dorchester County. These courts hear testimony from law enforcement officers or individuals requesting arrest warrants. Before issuing an arrest warrant, the judge must determine that probable cause exists for the warrant.
Probable cause exists if the judge determines, based on the facts presented, that there is a reasonable belief the suspect committed the crime. To find active warrants in Dorchester County, you should begin by searching for open cases through the courts.
Dorchester County court records
To search for open criminal cases in Dorchester County, you can use the case summary system of the Judicial Circuit. The case system is available online and provides information about current and closed Dorchester County cases. You should search for records through the Magistrate Court because most arrest warrants are issued through this court.
However, some criminal cases are transferred to the Circuit Court, so a complete warrant search includes this court. Unfortunately, the online system does not allow the public to obtain copies of court documents online. You may get copies of court documents through the
Magistrate Court or the
Clerk of Court.
Dorchester County warrant searches and criminal background searches.
The
Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office is the primary resource to search for outstanding warrants. You should contact the office to inquire about requesting copies of arrest records or finding out if an arrest warrant is pending against someone. The Sheriff’s Office can also assist with criminal background reports for a fee.
How do you get information on Dorchester’s warrants and arrest records over the phone? (2024)
Thinking this person might have an arrest warrant? **Call the authorities**. They’ll either confirm the warrant or go ahead and **make the arrest**.
However, if you are interested in a detailed criminal history report, that’s not something that you get served over the phone. In any case, here is what’s on offer from various state agencies:
- Brief information about outstanding warrants from the police- For this and to give a tip about a most wanted suspect, call on 843-832-0300 or 843-563-0259.
- Details on a person who is currently held in the Dorchester County Jail- For this and information pertaining to bail bond, call on 843-832-0215 (Summerville) or 843-832-0267 (St. George).
- Data on a prisoner serving time in a state penitentiary- For this and information pertaining to release on parole, call on 803-896-8500.
- Registering for the Automatic Victim Notification System: For this call on 1-866-727-2846. If you need other information about the perpetrator of a crime, call on 803-896-1733.
- Judicial records- For this and to find out about court dates, call the Clerk of Court on 843-563-0160.
Crime statistics for Dorchester County, SC
On the whole, the drop in the rate of violent crimes in Dorchester County in 2019 was a positive sign. But the fact that the decrease was in single digits and that the rate of aggravated assault increased from less than 380 to nearly 400 is enough to make you sit up and take notice.
Fortunately, the rate of property crimes followed the plunging trend and recorded a drop of almost 8%, going down from 3783 to 3650.
Between 2001 and 2008, approximately 9,800 crimes were reported in Chester County. About 20% of the crimes were considered violent, including 14 murders and 68 rapes. Crime rates increased within the county by 70%, but most crimes remained theft or burglary-related.
