Charleston Recent Bookings
Charleston is the largest city in South Carolina and a hub of law enforcement activity in the Lowcountry. When someone is arrested in Charleston, their booking information is recorded at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston. You can search Charleston recent bookings through the online inmate search portal maintained by the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. This page explains where booking records are kept, how to find them, and how to request related records from the Charleston Police Department and county sheriff under state law.
Charleston Quick Facts
Where Charleston Recent Bookings Are Held
The Charleston Police Department (CPD) makes arrests within city limits. After an arrest, most people are transported to the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center. This facility is located at 3841 Leeds Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405. The phone number for the detention center is (843) 529-7300. The center processes roughly 33,000 inmates each year and serves both the city of Charleston and all of Charleston County.
The detention center is operated by the Charleston County Sheriff's Office (CCSO). That means booking records for Charleston arrests are held at the county level, not by the city police department. To look up who is currently in custody or who was recently booked, you go to the county's online search tool rather than the city's website.
Note: The Al Cannon Detention Center uses a cashless system. All inmate commissary activity goes through individual accounts rather than cash on hand.
Search Recent Bookings in Charleston County
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office runs a free online inmate search at inmatesearch.charlestoncounty.org. The tool lets you find people currently in custody or recently released. You can search by first name, last name, booking date range, or inmate number. There is also a checkbox to include prior inmates who have since been released from the facility.
Each result shows the inmate's name, booking number, charges filed, bond amount, booking date, and housing location within the facility. Mugshots are shown when available. This portal covers all recent bookings made by the Charleston Police Department, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, and other agencies that use the Al Cannon Detention Center for holding.
Under S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-30(D), the identities of individuals confined in any jail or detention center must be immediately available to the public during normal business hours for the preceding three months. The online portal makes this access easy and available at any time.
Charleston FOIA Requests for Arrest Records
The City of Charleston processes all public records requests through an online portal. Visit the Charleston FOIA portal and click "Start Your FOIA Request" to begin. The system assigns a reference number so you can track your request. CPD records, including arrest reports and incident reports, are handled through this same portal and routed to CPD records management staff.
The Charleston Police Department is located at 180 Lockwood Boulevard, Charleston, SC 29403. The non-emergency line is (843) 720-2422. You can also submit requests in person or by mail, but the online portal is the preferred method. Include the case number, names involved, and date of the incident to help staff locate the records faster.
The city's fee schedule for records requests is as follows: administrative staff time runs $19.24 per hour, redaction costs $23.86 per hour, police department staff time is $20.73 per hour, and IT staff is billed at $32.00 per hour. Copies cost $0.10 per page for black and white and $0.20 per page for color. A CD or DVD is $5.00, and a flash drive is $12.00. Large jobs may be sent to an outside vendor at actual cost.
Crime reports and arrest reports from the past 14 days are immediately available without a formal written request under state law. For older records, the city must acknowledge your request within 10 business days for records less than two years old, or within 20 business days for older records. Records are then produced within 30 to 35 calendar days depending on age.
Note: South Carolina law under S.C. Code Ann. § 17-1-40 requires that arrest records be destroyed when charges are dismissed or the person is found not guilty, so some historical records may not be available.
Charleston Police Department Records Portal
The City of Charleston maintains a dedicated public records request page at charleston-sc.gov where residents can submit requests for CPD arrest records, incident reports, and other public documents.
The portal routes each request to the correct department and provides a reference number so you can check the status of your request online.
Charleston County Sheriff Booking Records
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office maintains its records division at 3691 Leeds Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405. You can reach the main line at (843) 202-1700 or the records line at (843) 554-2230. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The sheriff's office provides the free online inmate search and also handles requests for copies of arrest records from the detention center.
Getting a copy of an arrest record or a report from the sheriff's office typically involves a fee. The amount varies by request type. The Charleston County Clerk of Court at 100 Broad Street, Suite 106, Charleston, charges $31 for a record search and $4 for each retrieved record. The clerk's office phone is (843) 958-5000. Payment is accepted by cash, check, or credit card.
For video visitation at the Al Cannon Detention Center, visits are limited to three per week at 30 minutes each. You can visit Sunday through Saturday during three daily windows. All visitation is done by video. An inmate must be held for at least 72 hours before any visits are allowed.
State Resources for Recent Booking Records
South Carolina's SLED CATCH system is the statewide tool for criminal history checks. CATCH stands for Citizens Access to Criminal History and runs at catch.sled.sc.gov. A name-based check costs $25 plus a $1 convenience fee for online use. You need a last name, first initial, and date of birth to run a search. Results include convictions, pending charges, and arrest records within the state system.
SLED does not include juvenile records, sealed records, or federal offenses. Mail requests go to SLED Records Department, P.O. Box 21398, Columbia, SC 29221-1398. The phone number for SLED is (803) 737-9000.
The VINE system at vinelink.com lets family members and victims track an inmate's custody status. You can register for notifications by phone, email, or text when an inmate's status changes. VINE covers most South Carolina county detention centers including the Al Cannon Detention Center.
For state-sentenced inmates, the South Carolina Department of Corrections runs a separate inmate search at doc.sc.gov. SCDC only covers people sentenced and held in state prison, not those awaiting trial at county detention centers. If someone is not yet sentenced, the county inmate search is where you look.
Note: Under S.C. Code Ann. § 17-1-60, it is illegal for anyone to use booking photos or arrest records to extort payment from individuals in exchange for removing that information from a website.
Charleston County Recent Bookings
Charleston is located in Charleston County. All arrests made by the Charleston Police Department result in bookings at the county detention center. For full information on the county inmate search, detention center contact details, the county sheriff's records division, and related resources, visit the Charleston County recent bookings page.
Nearby South Carolina Cities
Other cities in the Charleston area send arrestees to the same or nearby detention facilities. Select a city below to see booking record resources for that area.