SearchSystems Editorial

Reviewed and updated October 4, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The crime counts are the ones 88 agencies reported to the FBI for 2025. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data, latest year 2025. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.

About this guide

Los Angeles County, California, has about 9.8 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its public records are split between the county, the state, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles and the cities and towns, and the office that holds a record decides how you get it, what it costs and who may see it. This guide walks through each one, starting with the crime numbers its police agencies reported.

In this guide: Crime numbers, Jail and arrests, Warrants, Criminal records, District Attorney, Police reports, Sex offender registry, Court records, Traffic tickets, DUI, Divorce records, Deeds and property, Records requests, Which office covers your city, Other counties and Questions.

California guides: Arrest Records · Inmate Search · Criminal Records · Background Checks · Wants and Warrants · Sex Offender Registry · Court Records · Property Records · Recorded Documents · Public Records Law · People Search

Crime Numbers in Los Angeles County, 2025

Police agencies report crimes to the FBI in two groups, violent (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) and property (burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson). In Los Angeles County the reports come from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office and the La Canada Flintridge Police Department, with a separate count for each of 87 of its cities, and 2025 is the latest year with all twelve months in.

In 2025 the 88 agencies with all twelve months reported 52,956 violent and 209,948 property crimes. Among the 87 of them that also reported all of 2024, violent crime fell from 56,334 in 2024 to 52,631 in 2025, down 6.6 percent, and property crime rose from 199,373 in 2024 to 207,567 in 2025, up 4.1 percent. That is 4,491 more crimes in all.

  • Los Angeles: 25,944 violent and 87,297 property crimes in 2025, up 34 percent from 84,731 in 2024.
  • Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office: 5,978 violent and 15,575 property crimes in 2025, down 11 percent from 24,149 in 2024.
  • Long Beach: 2,777 violent and 11,419 property crimes in 2025, down 25 percent from 18,988 in 2024.
  • Pomona: 950 violent and 3,344 property crimes in 2025, down 14 percent from 5,014 in 2024.
  • Santa Monica: 557 violent and 3,708 property crimes in 2025, down 15 percent from 4,990 in 2024.
  • Torrance: 422 violent and 3,614 property crimes in 2025, down 4.9 percent from 4,246 in 2024.

Irwindale reported only part of 2025 (11 months), so it is left out of the totals.

The monthly counts are published by the FBI at cde.ucr.cjis.gov, and California publishes its own statewide tables on OpenJustice.

Arrests, Jail and Inmate Search in Los Angeles County

The county jail is where people arrested in Los Angeles County are held until they post bond, are released or are sentenced. The jail roster lists each person held, the charges and the bond.

In 2025 the jail's average daily population was about 12,780, down from about 16,890 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 20,965 beds, and it ran at 62 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

Who is in custody

The jail and inmate page SearchSystems verified for Los Angeles County:

People sentenced to prison serve the sentence in a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.

SearchSystems' California inmate search guide and arrest records guide explain how arrest and custody records work across California.

Warrants in Los Angeles County

An arrest warrant in Los Angeles County is signed by a judge, usually of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, and is served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office or the city police. A judge also issues a bench warrant when someone misses a court date, and a warrant issued in a case becomes part of that case's court file.

The California wants and warrants guide covers the statewide picture.

Criminal Records and Background Checks in Los Angeles County

California does not let the public search anyone's statewide criminal history. The official record, kept by the California Department of Justice, goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes. For everyone else the court files of individual cases in Los Angeles County are the public record (see the court section below).

Your own California record

To see your own record, the route is a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR. The state fee is $25. The response cannot be used for immigration or visa purposes. Details are on the California Department of Justice page.

Local records in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office keeps its own arrest and booking files for Los Angeles County, separate from the state repository, and some sheriffs issue a local clearance letter from them. The prosecutions themselves are in the files of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

The California criminal records guide and background check guide explain who may legally check whom, and what each route costs.

District Attorney for Los Angeles County

The District Attorney is the charging office for Los Angeles County: it reviews arrests from every police agency in the county and files the cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Plea offers, restitution and victim notification go through it; copies of filings come from the court.

  • Website: da.lacounty.gov (page title: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office)
  • Checked: September 23, 2026, the page answered.

Sheriff and Police Reports in Los Angeles County

Reports are released by the agency that took them. In Los Angeles County that means the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and a city's own police department where the city has one. Under the California Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. It may charge the direct cost of copying only, not staff time.

SearchSystems has a guide to the city offices of Long Beach, Santa Clarita, Glendale, Pomona, Torrance, Pasadena, Downey, West Covina, El Monte and Norwalk and 42 more cities, listed below.

Sex Offender Registry for Los Angeles County

Registered sex offenders living in Los Angeles County are listed on the Megan's Law website, run by the California Department of Justice at meganslaw.ca.gov. The registry is tiered; some registrants are kept off the public site and others are shown by ZIP code only.

Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department. A search of the state site that finds no one is not proof that a person is not registered, since the site does not show every registrant.

The California sex offender registry guide explains the tiers and the notification rules.

Court Records and Case Search in Los Angeles County

In Los Angeles County, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles hears every civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic and juvenile case. The Superior Court clerk keeps the files.

The court records page SearchSystems verified

California has no single statewide index of trial court cases; each court's records are looked up through that court. The state court system's page SearchSystems verified is at courts.ca.gov/policy-administration/public-records/who-where-how-vi....

The California court records guide covers copy fees, certified copies and sealed records statewide.

Traffic Tickets and Driving Records in Los Angeles County

Tickets in Los Angeles County go to the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. A paid ticket, a dismissal and a trial all end up in that court's records.

Convictions are reported by the court to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which keeps the driving record and decides on points and suspensions. Order the driving record from that agency, not from the court.

DUI Arrests and Records in Los Angeles County

Drunk driving is charged as DUI in California, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more. In Los Angeles County a DUI arrest goes the same way whoever makes it: a person who is held is booked at the county jail, and the case is charged by the District Attorney in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

The court case is only half the record. The DMV runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided. For sentencing, California counts prior offenses within 10 years.

Divorce Records in Los Angeles County

A divorce in Los Angeles County is a court case, so the file and the final judgment stay with the Superior Court's family law division. The Superior Court clerk keeps it, and the case index tells whether a divorce was filed and when.

For Los Angeles County the court records page is lacourt.ca.gov. Most of a divorce file is public once the case is closed; financial declarations, records about children and anything the court sealed are not.

For divorces granted between 1962 and June 1984 the California Department of Public Health can issue a Certificate of Record, which confirms the names, the county and the case number but is not a copy of the judgment.

Property Records, Deeds and Parcel Search in Los Angeles County

Who owns a parcel in Los Angeles County and what it sold for are in the deed records of the County Recorder, with every lien or mortgage against the land; what it is taxed on is the business of the County Assessor. Under Proposition 13 a property's assessed value is set when it changes hands and can rise no more than 2 percent a year after that, so a home owned for decades is often assessed far below its market value.

Recorded documents

Property values

The California property records guide and recorded documents guide explain how to read a deed index and what a title search costs.

Public Records Requests in Los Angeles County

Any record of a county office in Los Angeles County that is not posted online can be requested under the California Public Records Act. The request goes to the office that holds the record, in writing, and does not need to say why you want it. The office must answer within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. It may charge the direct cost of copying only, not staff time. Court records are outside the act and follow the court's own rules.

The records request page SearchSystems verified for Los Angeles County:

The California public records law guide has the appeal route when a request is denied.

Which Office Covers Your City in Los Angeles County

The jail, the court and the deed records are the same for every city in Los Angeles County: the county jail, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles and the County Recorder. The police agency is what differs: the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and a city's own police department where the city has one.

The FBI publishes separate crime counts for 87 of these cities; the crime section above has the numbers.

Cities in Los Angeles County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; the linked names open SearchSystems' guide to that city's own offices:

52 of the 88 are listed: every city with its own guide and the largest of the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did crime go up or down in Los Angeles County in 2025?

Up 1.8 percent. The 87 agencies with all of 2024 and 2025 reported 260,198 crimes in 2025 against 255,707 in 2024: 52,631 violent against 56,334, and 207,567 property against 199,373. Two more agencies reported only part of one of the two years and are not in this comparison.

How many people are in the Los Angeles County jail?

About 12,780 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 20,965 beds.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Los Angeles County?

Check the roster on the jail page SearchSystems verified at locator.lacounty.gov, or call (213) 473-6100. It shows each person held, the charges and the bond.

Are criminal records public in Los Angeles County?

Court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the California Department of Justice is not public; you can get your own for $25.

Can I search Los Angeles County court cases online?

The records page of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles is at lacourt.ca.gov.

What is the DUI law in Los Angeles County?

California charges it as DUI at 0.08 or above. The criminal case is heard in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. The license case is handled separately by the DMV.

How do I get a copy of a divorce decree in Los Angeles County?

From the Superior Court's family law division, through the Superior Court clerk (lacourt.ca.gov). For divorces granted between 1962 and June 1984 the California Department of Public Health can issue a Certificate of Record, which confirms the names, the county and the case number but is not a copy of the judgment.

Who records deeds in Los Angeles County?

The County Recorder, at lavote.gov/home/recorder. Deeds, mortgages and liens on land in Los Angeles County are filed there, and the County Assessor (assessor.lacounty.gov) has the assessment records.

How long does Los Angeles County have to answer a records request?

Under the California Public Records Act, the answer is due within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. The records request page SearchSystems verified is at lacounty.gov.

Is this the official Los Angeles County website?

No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.