How to Search Kent County Arrest Records
The main public tool for a recent arrest is the Kent County Web Jail Viewer. The tool requires a full last name. First name and a booking date range are optional. Results show booking number, name, and booking date. A click on the result opens a detail page with charges, mugshot, bond, and the court case numbers tied to the arrest.
The image below shows the Web Jail Viewer booking search form.
Source: Kent County Web Jail Viewer.
For an arrest that already moved to court, use MiCOURT Case Search with the case number or the party's last name. The Web Jail Viewer detail page lists the related District Court and Circuit Court case numbers, which links the booking to the court file.
Arrest Record vs Criminal Court Record
Public users often blur these two. An arrest record shows that a person was taken into custody. A criminal court record shows what the prosecutor filed, what the judge ruled, and what the sentence was. An arrest can lead to no charge at all. The chart below shows the line between the two for Kent County.
| Detail | Arrest Record | Criminal Court Record |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Kent County Sheriff's Office, police agency | 63rd District Court, 17th Circuit Court |
| Public tool | Web Jail Viewer | MiCOURT Case Search |
| Shows | Booking, mugshot, charges at booking, bond | Filings, hearings, plea, disposition, sentence |
| Status | In custody, released, transferred | Pretrial, disposed, dismissed, convicted |
| Update lag | Hours after booking | Days after a hearing or ruling |
For the full inmate roster walk-through, see the Kent County inmate records page. For the court file behind the booking, see the court records page.
The Kent County Booking Process
An arrest in Kent County usually ends at the Kent County Correctional Facility on Ball Avenue NE. The Sheriff's Office screens the person on intake, takes fingerprints and a mugshot, runs medical and security checks, and assigns a booking number. The Inmate Processing Office runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Felony arrests get a district-court arraignment, a bond review, a probable-cause conference, and a preliminary examination before any move to the 17th Circuit Court.
The image below shows the Web Jail Viewer booking endpoint, the public face of the Kent County jail roster.
Source: Kent County Web Jail Viewer booking result endpoint.
Court services staff at the jail run pretrial screenings. The screening collects social and criminal history that helps Kent County courts set bond. The detail page for a booked person can show the charges, the District Court case number, the Circuit Court case number, the required bond amount, the bond type, the fine amount, and the holds count from other agencies.
Charges vs Convictions in Kent County
A charge is the prosecutor's accusation. A conviction is a court finding of guilt. Charges show up at booking. A conviction shows up only at disposition. A docket can list a felony charge that ends in a dismissed entry or a plea to a lesser misdemeanor. The Web Jail Viewer detail page commonly carries a PRETRIAL charge status, which means the case is open and not yet disposed.
The Michigan Compiled Laws cite the statutes for each crime. A felony charge can read like 750.413, which points to a state-code section. The court file is the only authoritative source for whether the charge stood, dropped, or changed at plea. Online sources show what was true at the last update, not what is true today.
Kent County Mugshots
The Web Jail Viewer detail page shows an inline mugshot for each booked person. The image carries a click-to-enlarge option. Mugshots are public booking data, but they fall under the Kent County Sheriff's Office content rules. Reposting a mugshot does not change the legal status of the case. A person who is booked may still walk free without any charge.
Third-party mugshot sites are not the Kent County source. Use the Web Jail Viewer for the current and official image. If the data on the page looks wrong, the disclaimer tells users to contact the jail facility direct, and the hosting vendor states it does not control content from the agency.
Michigan State Criminal History (ICHAT and OTIS)
The Michigan State Police runs the Internet Criminal History Access Tool, known as ICHAT, through the state's apps portal. ICHAT charges a fee and needs an account. It returns a state-level criminal history based on the data the state police hold under MCL 28.243. The state record is wider than a county docket, but it still depends on data the courts and police send up.
The image below shows the official Michigan Department of Corrections OTIS search, the main public tool for state prisoners, parolees, and probationers.
Source: MDOC OTIS offender search.
For state sex offender data, use the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry. For federal arrests in west Michigan, see the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator and the federal courts. Kent County is in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, and federal arrests do not appear in MiCOURT or the Web Jail Viewer.
Sealed vs Expunged Arrest Records
Michigan uses set aside terminology for many expungement-style remedies. A set-aside under MCL 780.621 hides a qualifying conviction from ordinary public access. The conviction stays visible to courts, police, and some licensing bodies. A sealed record is closed from public view by a separate court order or statute. The chart below shows the difference.
| Category | Sealed | Set Aside / Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Court order or statute | MCL 780.621 and Clean Slate provisions |
| Public view | Closed | Hidden from public criminal-history searches |
| Law enforcement view | Often closed | Still visible to courts, police, licensing |
| Common trigger | Specific case or statute, like adoption | Conviction set-aside petition or automatic Clean Slate |
The Michigan set-aside process can need fingerprints, a state police background step, service on the prosecutor or Attorney General, and a court hearing if the order is not automatic. Denial reasons include an ineligible offense, too many convictions, a pending case, or unpaid obligations.
Public Access Laws for Kent County Arrest Records
Arrest data falls under more than one rule. Booking data held by the Sheriff is governed by the Michigan Freedom of Information Act at MCL 15.231 and the request rules at MCL 15.233. Court case files are run under Michigan Court Rule 8.119. State criminal history shared by the Michigan State Police is run under MCL 28.243.
Juvenile arrest data is restricted by MCL 712A.28. Mental-health holds carry their own access limits. A search warrant tied to an arrest is often sealed before it is executed, so it does not appear in the public docket until later.
Note: An arrest record is not legal proof of guilt. Always check the disposition on the court docket before drawing any conclusion from a booking page.
Background Check Considerations
The site is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Public Kent County arrest data cannot be used for tenant screening, employment, credit, or insurance decisions. For an FCRA-compliant background check, the requester must use a licensed consumer reporting agency that follows federal rules. Public users who only want to see a single case can use the Web Jail Viewer and MiCOURT direct without a vendor.
Kent County also has a stand-alone Office of the Public Defender that handles indigent criminal defense, with an Independence Council that protects the office's autonomy. The office was created in 2024, and Julia Kelly was appointed as Public Defender in September 2024.