Find Dolores County Busted Mugshots

Dolores County busted mugshots and arrest records are maintained by the Dolores County Sheriff's Office in Dove Creek, Colorado. This is one of the smallest and most remote counties in the state. The population sits around 2,000 people, and the county is tucked into the southwestern corner of Colorado near the Utah border. The sheriff handles all local law enforcement and booking duties. This page covers how to search for Dolores County arrest records, request mugshots, and use state databases when the county itself does not provide online lookup tools.

Dolores County Sheriff Records

The Dolores County Sheriff's Office is the sole law enforcement agency for the county. It runs out of Dove Creek, a town of about 700 people. The sheriff covers patrol, investigations, and the detention function for the entire area. When someone is arrested in Dolores County, the booking records their name, charges, and personal details. A mugshot is taken. That photo becomes part of the public arrest file under Colorado law.

With a total population under 2,000, Dolores County is one of the least populated counties in Colorado. The county does not run a large jail. Local detention capacity is minimal. People arrested here are often transferred to Montezuma County in Cortez for housing. Montezuma County has a larger facility that can handle inmates from surrounding areas. If you are looking for someone arrested in Dolores County and they are not in the local system, call the Montezuma County jail next. The booking record stays with the Dolores County Sheriff regardless of where the person is physically held. The transfer is about space, not about who owns the case.

Note: Dolores County typically transfers inmates to the Montezuma County jail in Cortez due to very limited local detention space.

Dolores County Mugshot Lookup

Dolores County has no online inmate roster or booking search tool. The county is too small to justify that kind of system. Arrests here are rare compared to any urban area. To check on a current inmate or recent booking, call the sheriff's office in Dove Creek. They handle a low volume of calls and can usually give you a quick answer.

For a formal records search, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation offers a statewide check through cbirecordscheck.com. It costs $6 per search. You enter a name. The system pulls arrest records from all 64 Colorado counties, including Dolores County. Results show charges, case outcomes, and disposition dates. Booking photos are not part of the CBI results. But once you confirm an arrest exists, you can request the actual mugshot from the Dolores County Sheriff. CBI is the most reliable way to search for Dolores County arrest history online because the county does not publish that data on the web.

The CBI records and background checks page explains the types of searches that cover Dolores County.

Search the CBI database to find arrest records from Dolores County and all other Colorado jurisdictions.

Dolores County Arrest Records Access

Colorado's Criminal Justice Records Act makes arrest records in Dolores County public. The CCJRA says records of official action must be open. Arrests, charges, indictments, and sentencing are all official action. You can request them from the Dolores County Sheriff without giving a reason. The sheriff has three business days to respond. The first hour of research time is free. After that, the fee can go up to $41.37 per hour for staff time and $0.25 per page for copies.

Put your request in writing. Include the full name and the arrest date if you know it. Send it to the Dolores County Sheriff's Office in Dove Creek. For a county this small, staff usually know recent cases well enough to pull records quickly. Court records from Dolores County go through the 22nd Judicial District. The court maintains its own files on criminal cases, including dockets, plea agreements, and sentencing orders. These are separate from the sheriff's booking records and sometimes have more detail about how a case was resolved.

Open Records for Dolores County

Beyond the CCJRA, the Colorado Open Records Act gives you additional rights to get documents from Dolores County agencies. CORA applies to all public records, not just criminal justice files. If you need something from the county that falls outside the scope of the CCJRA, CORA is your tool. The process is the same: written request, three business days for a response, and the same fee structure with the first hour free.

The Attorney General's CORA page explains the full process and gives you resources if a Dolores County agency does not cooperate with your request. CORA disputes can go through the courts or the AG's office. For Dolores County, most requests for arrest records and booking data are simple enough that the CCJRA handles everything. CORA becomes useful when you need internal documents, policies, or communications from a county office that do not qualify as criminal justice records.

State Tools for Dolores County

Colorado runs several databases that cover Dolores County. CBI collects arrest data from every county sheriff in the state, so Dolores County records feed into the central system. For anyone sentenced to state prison after a Dolores County arrest, the Department of Corrections offender search at doc.state.co.us/oss is the place to look. The search is free. It works by name or DOC number.

VINE at vinelink.com lets you track an inmate's custody status in any Colorado county for free. Register for phone, email, or text alerts when something changes. VINE covers Dolores County inmates even when they are housed in the Montezuma County jail. Anyone can sign up. It runs around the clock. If you need to know the moment someone leaves custody, VINE is the right tool.

The Colorado State Patrol Central Records Unit handles records from state trooper activity. Highway 491 and Highway 184 pass through or near Dolores County. If a trooper made an arrest on one of those roads, the record may be with the CSP rather than the sheriff.

Note: VINE tracks Dolores County inmates across all Colorado facilities, even after a transfer.

Sealing Dolores County Arrest Records

Colorado law allows record sealing for eligible people. Dolores County busted mugshots and arrest data can be sealed through a court petition under C.R.S. 24-72-703. The fee to file is $224. Courts can waive it for people who qualify based on income. Dolores County cases go through the 22nd Judicial District Court. If the petition is approved, the booking photo and arrest record come out of public view. Law enforcement retains full access on their end.

Some records get sealed without a petition. If charges were never filed after an arrest in Dolores County, CBI may seal the records automatically one year after the arrest date. This applies to arrests from January 1, 2022 onward. Drug convictions can also qualify for automatic sealing under C.R.S. 24-72-704 after a set waiting period. HB 14-1047 bars mugshot websites from charging removal fees. Sites must take down Dolores County booking photos at no cost when charges were dropped or the person was acquitted. Violations can result in civil damages up to $1,000.

Dolores County Court Records

Dolores County sits in the 22nd Judicial District, which also covers Montezuma County. Criminal cases from Dolores County arrests are heard by this court. Court records include the charges filed, hearing dates, plea deals, and sentencing outcomes. These are separate from the booking records the sheriff holds. If you want the full picture of a Dolores County case, you need both sources.

The Colorado Judicial Branch provides access to court records online. Search by name or case number. Most adult criminal cases from Dolores County are public. Sealed and juvenile cases are the exceptions. The Colorado State Archives at archives.colorado.gov hold historical corrections records that may include older Dolores County data from before current digital systems were in place.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Dolores County in southwestern Colorado. If you cannot find a record here, the arrest may have been processed by a neighboring sheriff's office.