Cattaraugus County Booking Reports Lookup
Cattaraugus County booking reports are filed with the Sheriff's Office in Little Valley. Every arrest processed in the county results in a booking report at the Cattaraugus County jail. You can search for records by contacting the Sheriff's Office directly or by submitting a written FOIL request. The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's website has contact information and department details for the office. Cattaraugus County sits in the western part of the state, south of Erie County and east of Chautauqua County. The county handles its own booking and jail operations through the Sheriff's Office, which also provides road patrol and civil process services.
Cattaraugus County Booking Reports Overview
How to Get Cattaraugus County Booking Reports
The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office keeps all booking reports for the county. When law enforcement makes an arrest, the person is taken to the county jail for processing. At booking, staff record the person's name, date of birth, address, charges, arresting agency, bail amount, and physical description. A photo is taken. All of this goes into the booking report. The report stays on file at the jail and can be requested through FOIL.
To request records, write to the Records Access Officer at the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office. Be specific about what you want. Include names, dates, and any case or booking numbers you have. Under Public Officers Law Section 87, the agency must respond within five business days. They will either give you the records, deny the request with an explanation, or send a letter saying they need more time. Copies cost $0.25 per page. Inspecting records in person is free.
Note: Requests by fax or email may not be accepted by all agencies in the county, so mail or in-person requests are the safest option.
Search Cattaraugus County Arrest Records Online
The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office website provides contact info and department details. The screenshot below shows the Cattaraugus County Sheriff page.
This page is where you start for local booking report inquiries and jail contacts in the county.
For state-level searches, the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup covers inmates in all 44 state prisons. If someone from Cattaraugus County was sentenced to more than one year, they likely got transferred to state custody. The DOCCS system is searchable by last name, birth year, or Department Identification Number. It runs 24 hours a day. Everyone in state prison since the early 1970s is in the database, except youthful offenders and certain non-violent offenders covered by Correction Law Section 9.
The OCA Criminal History Record Search costs $95 per name. It pulls case records from courts in all 62 counties. You need the person's exact name and date of birth. It covers county court, supreme court, city court, and town and village courts. Sealed records do not appear.
Cattaraugus County Jail and Inmate Information
The Cattaraugus County jail is operated by the Sheriff's Office. Inmates are held there while awaiting trial or serving sentences of one year or less. People sentenced to longer terms get transferred to state prison. The jail handles all booking, intake, and release processing for the county. If you need to check on someone currently in the jail, call the Sheriff's Office and ask about their custody status.
VINELink is a free tool that lets you look up inmate custody status or register for alerts. When an inmate is released, transferred, or their status changes, VINE sends a notification by phone, email, or text. The service is anonymous and available around the clock. It covers most county jails and all state prisons in New York. Registration requires a 4-digit PIN that you choose when signing up.
The NYS Commission of Correction oversees all county jails in the state. They set minimum standards for housing, food, medical care, and staff training. Inspection reports for Cattaraugus County and other jails are public records that you can request from the Commission.
Cattaraugus County Records and FOIL Law
New York's Freedom of Information Law gives the public broad access to government records. Booking reports, arrest records, and jail rosters generally fall within the scope of FOIL. But there are exceptions. Records that would endanger someone's safety or reveal investigative techniques can be withheld. The Personal Privacy Protection Law also restricts certain information. Medical records, for example, are protected.
If the Sheriff's Office denies your request, the denial must be in writing and explain why. You can appeal within 30 days. Send the appeal to the designated appeals officer along with copies of your original request and the denial letter. The Committee on Open Government offers free guidance on FOIL issues and can help you draft an appeal if needed.
Booking Reports and Criminal History in Cattaraugus County
A local booking report is different from a state criminal history record. The Division of Criminal Justice Services keeps fingerprint-based rap sheets that cover arrests, indictments, convictions, and sentences across the entire state. These are not public records. You need to submit fingerprints to get your own DCJS record, and third parties can only access them when a specific law allows it. By contrast, a booking report from the Cattaraugus County jail is a local record from a single event.
The Clean Slate Act, effective November 16, 2024, will eventually seal some eligible conviction records automatically. The Office of Court Administration has up to three years to set this up. Sex crimes and non-drug Class A felonies are excluded from sealing. Older Cattaraugus County records tied to eligible convictions may be sealed once the process is complete.
Nearby Counties
Cattaraugus County is in the western part of New York state. These neighboring counties each run their own booking and jail operations.