About OpenArrest

What OpenArrest does

OpenArrest.com is a public records search service that surfaces recent jail bookings from Travis County (Austin) and Bexar County (San Antonio), Texas. We pull data directly from each county's official jail roster, normalize it into a consistent format, and present it in a way that's faster to search and easier to read than the original government interfaces.

Our database is refreshed every 10 minutes. Each booking appears on OpenArrest within minutes of being filed at the booking desk, and includes the charge, charge level, arresting agency, booking date, and (when available) the bond amount set by a magistrate.

Why OpenArrest exists

Texas public records are technically "open," but in practice they're scattered across dozens of county-run systems, often built on aging software with limited search and no mobile support. People who need this data — family members trying to locate someone after an arrest, reporters tracking arraignments, employers running background checks, defense attorneys pulling case histories — spend more time fighting the interface than reading the records.

OpenArrest exists to make this data easier to find. We focus on Texas because public records access varies dramatically state to state, and because we've built domain expertise in the Travis and Bexar jail systems specifically: their booking number formats, their charge codes, their data refresh cadences, and the corner cases that trip up generic aggregators.

What value we add

A raw jail roster is just a CSV. OpenArrest adds value through:

• Charge normalization. Counties use inconsistent shorthand for the same offense. We map raw charge text to a standard slug so that "DWI 2nd Offense", "Driving While Intoxicated 2", and "DWI/2nd" all resolve to the same browseable page.
• Charge metadata. Every charge type includes the Texas statute number, offense level (Class A misdemeanor, State Jail Felony, 2nd Degree Felony, etc.), and maximum penalty.
• Real-time updates. Most public-records aggregators refresh daily or weekly. OpenArrest refreshes every 10 minutes so a record on this site reflects what's in the county database right now.
• Removal process. If a case has been dismissed, expunged, or is older than 90 days, the listed individual can request removal directly from the record's page. We honor expungement orders and respect the presumption of innocence.
• Context. Each booking page links to related cases, charge-level statistics, and county-specific bail information — so the visitor leaves with more context than the raw roster could ever provide.

What OpenArrest is not

OpenArrest is not a mugshot site. We do not host or distribute mugshot images independently — when an agency makes a booking photo public via its official feed, we reproduce it; when no public photo exists, we display a neutral avatar based on the booking number. We do not charge for removal, and we do not use the records to imply guilt. An arrest is not a conviction; every person listed on this site is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Editorial standards

Read our full Editorial Standards for details on sourcing, accuracy commitments, update cadence, and how we handle corrections.

Contact us

Questions, corrections, partnership inquiries, or media requests: see our Contact page.