Chaffee County Booking Reports

Chaffee County booking reports are maintained by the sheriff's office in Salida, a mountain town in central Colorado surrounded by the Collegiate Peaks. The county sits along the upper Arkansas River and draws outdoor visitors year-round. All jail bookings in Chaffee County go through the sheriff's office, and these records are open to the public. Whether you need to check on a recent arrest or look up older booking data, this page explains every way to get that information from Chaffee County.

Chaffee County Sheriff's Office Records

The sheriff's office in Salida processes all bookings for Chaffee County. Arrests made by any law enforcement agency in the county lead to a booking at the county jail. During booking, staff record fingerprints, take a photo, and enter the arrest details. The finished booking report is a public record.

Chaffee County does not have an online inmate lookup system. You need to call or visit the sheriff to get booking information. The main phone number is 719-539-2596. When you call, give them the full name of the person you are searching for. A date of birth or approximate arrest date makes the search go faster. Staff can look up both current and past booking records for you.

You can also visit the sheriff's office in Salida during regular business hours. Walking in and asking in person is sometimes the quickest way to get what you need, especially if you want copies of the booking report right away.

Search Chaffee County Bookings Online

Two statewide systems let you search for booking-related data without having to call the sheriff. The VINE system is free and shows current custody information for inmates across Colorado. Go to the website, choose Colorado, and search by name. If the person you are looking for is in the Chaffee County jail, VINE will show their status. You can register for alerts too. VINE sends notifications by phone, email, or text when something changes with an inmate's custody.

The CBI Internet Criminal History Check is the other tool. It costs $6.00 per search. You type in a name and get arrest records from every county in the state. Chaffee County bookings are included. The results show the arresting agency, date, charges, and dispositions. This tool is good for seeing a full picture of someone's arrest history in Colorado, not just one county.

You can also check the CDOC Offender Search for state prison records. This free tool only covers people serving state prison sentences. It does not show county jail bookings. But if someone was booked in Chaffee County and later sent to state prison, you can track them through CDOC.

Note: VINE updates throughout the day as custody changes happen. For the most current information on someone's jail status, VINE is your best bet.

How to Get Chaffee County Records

The Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act gives you the right to inspect booking reports. Under C.R.S. 24-72-301, records of official actions must be open. An arrest is an official action. The booking report that results from it is therefore a public document that the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office must make available when someone asks for it.

To make a request, call the sheriff at 719-539-2596. You can also write a letter or send a request by email if the office accepts electronic submissions. Include your name, how to reach you, and the specific records you want. Be as detailed as possible. The sheriff has 3 working days to respond, with a possible extension of 7 more working days for big requests.

The VINE system lets you look up inmates in Chaffee County at no cost around the clock.

Select Colorado on the VINE page and then search by the inmate's name to check their custody status in Chaffee County.

Chaffee County Booking Report Fees

The fee schedule for records requests comes from state law. Your first hour of research and retrieval is free. After that, Chaffee County can charge up to $33.58 per hour. Copies run $0.25 per page. For a single booking report, you will almost certainly stay within the free first hour. Multi-record requests or requests that cover a long time span might go over.

Before the sheriff pulls records, you can ask for a cost estimate. That way there are no surprises. You also need to sign a statement promising not to use the records for direct solicitation of business for monetary gain. This is required by the CCJRA and applies to all criminal justice record requests in Colorado.

Chaffee County Records and Colorado Law

Colorado defines arrest records in C.R.S. 24-72-302. The law says arrest records include the name, date of birth, and sex of the accused, the identity of the arresting agency, the date and place of the arrest, and the charges filed. That matches what appears on a standard Chaffee County booking report.

Booking photos are public but protected against misuse. C.R.S. 24-72-305.5 bans posting mugshots online and charging for removal. The fine is up to $1,000. This does not affect your right to request a booking photo through the normal records process. It only targets websites that use photos to extract money from people.

Some records may be sealed. Courts can seal arrest records by petition, and the CBI automatically seals records when no charges are filed within a year of arrest for arrests after January 1, 2022. Sealed records are not available to the public. If a Chaffee County booking record has been sealed, neither the sheriff nor the CBI will release it.

Nearby Counties

Chaffee County is in central Colorado, surrounded by mountain counties. Each neighboring county has its own sheriff's office and booking process.