St. Mary Parish Arrest Records

St. Mary Parish arrest records are maintained by the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office at 1002 Marguerite Street in Franklin, Louisiana. The parish publishes a public jail roster through the LAVNS system at stmary.lavns.org, which shows current inmates held at the St. Mary Parish jail. Booking records and initial arrest reports are open to the public under LRS 44:3. This page explains how to access St. Mary Parish arrest records online, in person, and through local police departments that also serve communities in the parish.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Blaise Smith, is the main law enforcement agency in St. Mary Parish. The office and parish jail are both located at 1002 Marguerite Street in Franklin, the parish seat. All arrests processed through the parish jail produce booking records that are public under Louisiana law. You can reach the sheriff's office by phone at (337) 828-1960 or by fax at (337) 827-4949 for written inquiries.

The St. Mary Parish Jail is at the same address as the sheriff's office. When an arrest is made in the parish, the booking process happens here. A booking record is created that captures the person's name, date of birth, the charges, and the arrest date. These records are public from the moment they are created. You do not need to wait for a conviction or court action to request them.

Louisiana's Public Records Act at LRS 44:1 requires every government agency, including the sheriff, to respond to public records requests within three business days. If they deny the request, they must put the reason in writing. Fees for copies are allowed, but they can't charge you just for viewing a record.

Search the St. Mary Parish Inmate Roster

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office makes a public inmate roster available through the Louisiana Victim Notification System at stmary.lavns.org. This roster is updated regularly and shows who is currently in custody at the St. Mary Parish jail. You can browse by the first letter of the last name. Each entry includes the inmate's name, date of birth, race, sex, arrest date, and current charges. No account is needed to view the roster.

The screenshot below shows the Louisiana State Police website, which provides links to statewide records resources and serves as a central hub for public safety information across all Louisiana parishes including St. Mary.

The Louisiana State Police at lsp.org maintains statewide public safety data and links to resources that supplement local parish records systems like the St. Mary LAVNS roster.

LAVNS also offers VINE notifications. You can register at the statewide portal at vinelink.vineapps.com/state/LA to get alerts when a specific person's custody status changes. The service works by phone, text, or email and costs nothing. You can register without giving your name, which makes it useful for victims and witnesses who want to stay informed about a case without being identified.

If you cannot find the person on the St. Mary Parish roster, check the statewide VINE portal. Inmates are sometimes transferred to other facilities, and the statewide search covers all Louisiana jails that participate in the LAVNS network.

The statewide VINE database shown above covers all Louisiana parishes and lets you track custody status changes across the state, including transfers out of the St. Mary Parish jail.

How to Get St. Mary Parish Arrest Records

To request records from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office, call (337) 828-1960 and ask about the public records process. You can also go in person to 1002 Marguerite Street in Franklin. Bring the full name of the person you are looking for, the approximate date of arrest, and the type of document you need. The office can tell you what is available and what fees, if any, apply to copies.

Written requests can be faxed to (337) 827-4949 or mailed to the same address. LRS 44:3 makes initial arrest reports and booking records public, so the office cannot require you to explain why you want them. If you submit a request by mail or fax, include your contact information so they can follow up with you. The office must respond within three business days under LRS 44:1.

For a certified copy of your own criminal history in Louisiana, you must go through the Louisiana State Police. LRS 15:588 gives you the right to request your own record, but the process involves submitting fingerprints and a fee. This is separate from the basic booking records held at the sheriff's office, which are public regardless.

Note: If you need records for an arrest made by a city police department, contact that agency directly since they hold their own initial reports.

Local Police Departments in St. Mary Parish

Several city police departments operate in St. Mary Parish. Each agency handles arrests within its jurisdiction and maintains its own initial reports. These records are also public under LRS 44:3, but you have to request them from the specific department that made the arrest.

Franklin, Morgan City, and Berwick each have their own police departments. If you are looking for an arrest record and the arrest happened inside one of those city limits, that city's police department holds the original report. After an initial arrest, the person is often transferred to the parish jail, so you may need to check both the city department and the sheriff's office depending on the document you need.

The sheriff's LAVNS roster will show you who is currently in the parish jail. If someone was arrested by a city officer but is now in the parish jail, they will appear on the LAVNS roster even though the city department made the original arrest.

St. Mary Parish Arrest Record Laws

LRS 44:3 is the core statute for arrest records in Louisiana. It makes initial arrest reports, booking records, summons, citations, and bills of information public documents. These are open to any adult without restriction. The agency cannot ask your reason for requesting them, and they cannot withhold them based on the outcome of the case. A dropped charge or dismissed case does not make the original arrest record private.

The statewide criminal history database maintained by the Louisiana State Police is different. Under LRS 15:587, the full LACCH database is restricted and not open to general public searches. If you want to do a full background check, you need to go through an authorized process, not the sheriff's office or LAVNS. What is available publicly is the jail roster, the booking report, and court filings.

LRS 44:1 applies to every public agency in Louisiana. It sets the right of any adult to inspect or copy public records. If an agency refuses a request improperly, you can seek a court order to compel release. Legal aid organizations in Louisiana can help if you run into a refusal that seems unlawful.

Cities in St. Mary Parish

There are no qualifying cities in St. Mary Parish with dedicated arrest records pages on this site. All communities in the parish, including Franklin, Morgan City, and Berwick, are served through the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office at 1002 Marguerite Street in Franklin. Call (337) 828-1960 for records help for any part of the parish.

Nearby Parishes

St. Mary Parish borders several other parishes along the Louisiana coast and inland waterways. Each has its own sheriff and records system.