Ohio County Police Records

Ohio County police records are handled by the Ohio County Sheriff's Office in Rising Sun, Indiana. This is the smallest county in Indiana by land area, but the records process follows the same state rules that apply everywhere else. You can request incident reports, arrest data, and warrant information directly from the sheriff's office or use Indiana's statewide tools to search records across all 92 counties.

Ohio County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Thomas Baxter leads the Ohio County Sheriff's Office, located at 123 S. Mulberry Street, Rising Sun, IN 47040. The main phone number is 812-438-3636. The fax number is 812-438-4848. You can also reach the office by email at ajackson@ohiocounty.in.gov for non-urgent matters. For emergencies, always call 911.

The Ohio County Sheriff's Office page on the county website provides contact details and information about department services.

From this page you can confirm office hours, find mailing information, and get a sense of what types of records requests the office handles regularly.

Ohio County has the smallest land area of all Indiana counties. The sheriff's office is a compact department that covers all law enforcement duties for the county. It is worth noting that Ohio County is listed as non-compliant with NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System), which means its crime data may not appear in the FBI's national database in the same way as compliant counties. This does not affect your right to request records locally. All Indiana law enforcement agencies are still bound by APRA regardless of NIBRS status.

How to Get Ohio County Police Records

To request records from the Ohio County Sheriff's Office, you can visit in person at 123 S. Mulberry Street in Rising Sun, send a written request by fax to 812-438-4848, or mail your request to the same address. Email can work for initial inquiries, but written requests by fax or mail are better for formal APRA submissions because they create a clear record and start the seven-day response clock.

Indiana's Access to Public Records Act, found at IC 5-14-3, gives any person the right to inspect and copy public records. You do not need to provide a reason. The agency has seven days to respond. If they cannot fulfill the request within that window, they must notify you that more time is needed. If you get no response within seven days, the request is treated as denied, and you can escalate to the Public Access Counselor.

Exemptions include records from active investigations under IC 5-14-3-4, juvenile records, sealed court documents, and criminal intelligence data. If a partial record qualifies for an exemption, only that portion is withheld. The rest must be released. Fees apply before records are given out. Call 812-438-3636 to ask about current fees and accepted payment methods before submitting your request.

Inmate and Warrant Searches

Ohio County's small size means the jail holds a limited number of inmates at any given time. To check whether someone is in custody, call the sheriff's office directly at 812-438-3636. Staff can check by name and give you a status update. Warrant lookups work the same way. Let the records unit know the name and date of birth of the person you are checking on.

Indiana's VINE system provides a statewide option for checking custody status without calling the jail. Dial 866-959-8463 to reach the VINE service at no cost. You can also sign up for automatic alerts by phone, text, or email when an offender's status changes. This service covers all Indiana counties, including Ohio County.

Traffic accident reports from Ohio County roads are available through BuyCrash.com. The Indiana State Police uses this platform as the central location for crash reports filed by all Indiana law enforcement agencies. You will need the names of the parties, date of the crash, or the report number to locate a specific file.

Note: For arrests processed at the county jail, you can also check the court case record through MyCase Indiana once charges have been filed.

Statewide Records Resources for Ohio County

The Indiana State Police maintains databases that can supplement what you find at the local level. These tools are open to the public and cover criminal history, sex offenders, protection orders, and court records for all of Indiana.

The Limited Criminal History search at the ISP criminal history portal lets you look up felony and Class A misdemeanor arrests recorded in Indiana. The fee is $15.70 by credit card or $7 by mail. Search by name and date of birth. Results are returned quickly online. If the result comes back as NOT ON FILE but you suspect there should be a record, a fingerprint-based search through IDEMIA at 1-877-472-6917 provides a more thorough check.

Court records for Ohio County cases are available through the free MyCase Indiana portal. You can search criminal, civil, and family cases filed in the county. The Indiana Sex Offender Registry is searchable by county, name, or address. The Indiana Protection Order Registry shows active protection orders across the state. Both are free to use. For ISP-specific records, submit a formal APRA request through the ISP APRA portal.

If you have questions about whether a request was handled correctly, contact the Indiana Public Access Counselor. Their office provides free guidance on APRA issues and can issue advisory opinions when agencies appear to have wrongly denied access.

Nearby Counties

Ohio County shares borders with two Indiana counties and is close to Kentucky across the Ohio River.