Find Aiken Criminal Records Online
Aiken criminal records are held by multiple agencies across the city and county systems. As the county seat of Aiken County, the city sits within the 2nd Judicial Circuit and is served by both the Aiken Department of Public Safety and the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. Criminal records generated in Aiken include arrest documentation, offense reports, court case filings, and case dispositions processed through the Aiken County court system. This guide explains how to search Aiken criminal records using official channels, free online tools, and the statewide SLED CATCH system.
Aiken County Sheriff Criminal Records
The Aiken County Sheriff's Office serves and protects the citizens and visitors of Aiken County with fairness, compassion, and respect. The Sheriff's Office is located at 420 Hampton Avenue NE, Aiken, SC 29801, and can be reached at (803) 642-1761. Core operations include patrol services for unincorporated Aiken County, criminal investigations, a detention center, and a dedicated records division.
Arrest records and incident reports produced by the Sheriff's Office are public documents under South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act, § 30-4-10. Written requests submitted to the records division must receive a response within ten business days per § 30-4-30. The detention center holds individuals arrested on both misdemeanor and felony charges pending court proceedings.
Booking records from the detention center include arrests made by sheriff's deputies across unincorporated Aiken County. Those records are separate from Aiken city arrests handled by the Department of Public Safety, though both flow into the same Aiken County court system once charges are formally filed.
The image below is sourced from aikencountysc.gov and shows the Aiken County government infrastructure supporting criminal records in the area.
The Aiken County Clerk of Court manages official criminal case records for all proceedings in the 2nd Judicial Circuit covering Aiken County.
Aiken Department of Public Safety Records
The City of Aiken operates its own Department of Public Safety, which handles municipal law enforcement within city limits. The department is located at 251 Laurens Street NW, Aiken, SC 29801, and can be reached at (803) 642-7620. Municipal arrests and incidents handled by city officers generate their own set of arrest records, incident reports, and case documentation.
Public Safety records for Aiken city arrests can be requested in writing from the department's records unit. Requests are governed by § 30-4-10, and agencies must respond within ten business days. Certain exemptions under § 30-4-40 may apply if records relate to an active criminal investigation or involve protected individuals such as juveniles or crime victims.
Misdemeanor citations and arrests that begin with city officers may be handled in Aiken County Magistrate Court or transferred to General Sessions Court for more serious matters. The distinction between city and county arrest records can affect where a complete case history is located.
The image below is sourced from aikencountysheriff.org and shows the Aiken County Sheriff's Office that covers arrests in unincorporated parts of the county.
Both the Aiken County Sheriff and the city's Department of Public Safety contribute to the pool of arrest and offense records accessible through Aiken County's court system.
Aiken County Clerk of Court Criminal Case Records
The Aiken County Clerk of Court is the official custodian of criminal case records in Aiken County's circuit court. The office is located at 109 Park Avenue SE, Aiken, SC 29801, and can be reached at (803) 642-1715. The Clerk's office maintains records from General Sessions Court, which handles felony cases, as well as Common Pleas and Family Court filings. The office is accessible through aikencountysc.gov.
Criminal case records maintained by the Clerk include case filings, motion records, hearing transcripts, dispositions, and sentencing orders. Certified copies of documents are available at standard copy rates. In-person access during business hours allows direct review of public court files. Researchers looking for Aiken criminal records should search by defendant name or the case number assigned at filing.
Records tied to juvenile criminal proceedings are governed by § 63-19-2010, which provides for sealing of juvenile court records. Those files are not available through public access and require a court order to review. Adult records that have been expunged under § 17-22-910 are also removed from public access once the expungement order takes effect.
Note: The Clerk of Court maintains records for circuit-level proceedings only; magistrate and municipal court records are held by those respective courts.
Free Online Aiken Court Case Search
The SC Judicial Department Public Index for Aiken County provides free online access to circuit court records. Maintained by the SC Judicial Branch, the Public Index allows searches by name, case number, or filing date at no cost and without registration. Results include charges filed, case type, scheduled court dates, and current case status.
The Public Index is limited to circuit court filings. Magistrate, probate, and municipal court records are not available through the same system. Expunged records, sealed cases, and restricted juvenile filings do not appear in search results. For those categories, no online search tool returns results regardless of what the underlying record shows.
For researchers who need records beyond what the Public Index shows, the SLED CATCH system captures statewide arrest and disposition data submitted by all South Carolina law enforcement agencies. That broader database is accessible for a $25 fee per person.
Statewide Aiken Criminal History Through SLED
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division operates the SLED CATCH system for statewide criminal history records. Under SC Code § 23-3-115, a criminal history search costs $25 per individual. SLED CATCH returns a comprehensive record of arrests and dispositions entered into the statewide database, including all Aiken County entries and records from other South Carolina counties where a person may have had criminal contact.
SLED also maintains the SC Sex Offender Registry, which is searchable at no charge. The registry lists individuals required to register in South Carolina and can be searched by name or location. The SLED main site provides additional law enforcement resources and agency information relevant to Aiken County criminal records searches.
For individuals who are or have been incarcerated in state prison facilities, the SC Department of Corrections inmate search provides current and recent custody information. This database is separate from SLED CATCH and covers SCDC-managed facilities throughout South Carolina.
Aiken Criminal Records and the 2nd Judicial Circuit
Aiken is the county seat of Aiken County and the center of the 2nd Judicial Circuit, which covers Aiken, Barnwell, Bamberg, and Edgefield counties. Felony criminal cases originating in Aiken city limits or unincorporated Aiken County are heard in Aiken County General Sessions Court. The circuit's solicitor handles criminal prosecutions for all four counties within the circuit.
Cases at the magistrate level -- minor misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and preliminary hearings -- are handled by magistrate courts spread across the county. Those records are held by the individual magistrate courts and are not included in the Public Index or circuit court records maintained by the Clerk of Court. To access magistrate records, a direct request to the appropriate magistrate court is necessary.
South Carolina FOIA under § 30-4-10 gives the public broad rights to access government records, including criminal records. Requests are processed within ten business days. When records are withheld, agencies must identify the applicable exemption under § 30-4-40 and explain why it applies to the requested material.