In South Carolina, a police officer does not need to have an arrest warrant to make an arrest. However, unless the crime is a felony, he must witness the suspect commit a crime to arrest without an active warrant. To search for outstanding warrants, you can contact the county sheriff’s office or begin by searching county court records online.
Magistrate Court Records
South Carolina Magistrate Court’s issue arrest warrants for the county in which they are located. Magistrate Court judges take complaints from officers and individuals requesting arrest warrants. Once the judge issues the warrant, it is transferred to local law enforcement agencies to serve and execute.
To search court records online for Lancaster County, you need to access the Sixth Judicial Circuit’s Public Index. You can search criminal and civil court records for Lancaster County by name, date, type of case, or action type through this system. Once you have found a case, you can obtain copies or more details by contacting the Magistrate Court or the Clerk of Court’s Office.
Criminal history searches and warrant searches
To do a warrant search or request a criminal history report, you must contact the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. However, the office will not give out any information about outstanding warrants over the telephone – – you must go in person to the office to request information. You can view a list of the Most Wanted individuals, which gives information about some outstanding warrants within the county.
How do you find out about Lancaster County arrests and warrants over the phone? (2021-update)
- To report suspicious activity/person get in touch with the Sheriff’s Office on 803-283-3388.
- For an incident report, use the phone number 803-313-2103.
- If you are a crime victim, who wants to know more about the investigation of the case, call on 803-313-2104
- For victim services, you can get in touch with the Victim’s Advocate on 803-313-2118.
- For recent arrest records, call the Detention Center on 803-313-2224.
- If you have questions about a bond hearing, call on 803-416-9483.
- To learn about the procedure for accessing court dockets, call the Clerk of Court on 803-285-1581.
- For information on traffic violation fines, call the Magistrate’s Court on 803-283-3983 for county inquires and the City Court on 803-283-3313 for city-level inquiries.
- To know about criminal records expungement, filing a request for it, and to learn about court dates, call the 6th Circuit Solicitor’s Office on (803) 416-9367.
Neither the police nor the clerk of court gives info on any outstanding warrants over the phone.
Lancaster County, SC crime statistics
On the plus side, the violent crime rates of Lancaster County declined by around 6% in 2019. While this may be a positive development, the fact that the rate of property crimes increased by well over 20% to peak at just shy of 2000 cases was enough to give residents sleepless nights.
Over an eight-year period from 2001 to 2008, there were about 18,500 crimes committed without Lancaster County. Of these crimes, approximately 2,900 were violent in nature, including 21 murders and 188 rapes. The majority of crimes were related to either theft or burglary. During this time, crimes rose in Lancaster County by more than sixty percent.