Access Rhea County Arrest Records

Rhea County arrest records are maintained by the Sheriff's Office at 7800 Rhea County Highway in Dayton. Sheriff Mike Neal leads a department with 12 divisions including patrol, SWAT, narcotics, K9, marine, and homeland security. The county jail at 444 2nd Avenue in Dayton holds between 100 and 120 inmates on any given day. With a population of 33,167 and a crime rate of 100, Rhea County has a moderate level of law enforcement activity. All bookings in the county go through the Dayton jail facility.

Rhea County Sheriff's Office Arrest Data

The Rhea County Sheriff's Office manages all arrest records and jail operations for the county. Sheriff Mike Neal runs the department with Chief Deputy John Argo. The main office is at 7800 Rhea County Highway in Dayton. Call 423-775-2442 for general inquiries. Central dispatch uses the same number.

The department operates 12 divisions. Patrol handles most day-to-day law enforcement. The narcotics unit and SWAT team deal with more serious cases. There are also K9, marine, and homeland security divisions. School resource officers work in local schools. This level of specialization is notable for a county of this size.

Captain Melba Huffman runs the Rhea County jail as the Jail Administrator. The jail is at a different location from the main office: 444 2nd Avenue in Dayton. Call the jail directly at 423-775-7837. The facility ranges from minimum to maximum security and averages 100 to 120 inmates at any given time.

The Rhea County Sheriff's Office website at rheacountytn.gov provides information about the department and its operations. You can find contact details, division information, and links to inmate lookup tools on the site.

The official website serves as the main hub for information about Rhea County law enforcement. From here, you can navigate to the inmate information page and find contact details for each division.

Search Rhea County Arrest Records Online

Rhea County publishes inmate information on its website. The inmate info page at rheacountytn.gov/inmate-info provides details on current inmates in the county jail. The data updates every 24 hours and shows names, charges, booking dates, and bond information.

The inmate information page is the primary online tool for checking Rhea County arrest records. You can view the current roster and see who is in custody at the Dayton jail. No account is needed and the tool is free.

To check on the release status of a specific inmate, you can search online or call the jail at 423-775-7837. Staff can tell you if someone is still in custody, has been released, or has been transferred.

Third-party jail roster sites also carry Rhea County booking data. The Tennessee Jail Roster website provides an aggregated listing of Rhea County inmates pulled from public records.

These aggregator sites are useful when the main county website is slow or down. Data may not be as current as the official source, so check the official site first when possible.

Rhea County Public Records Requests

The Tennessee Public Records Act (TCA Section 10-7-503) gives Tennessee residents the right to request arrest records and other public documents from Rhea County. The public records coordinator is Jacob Ellis. Send requests to ellisj@rheacounty.org or by mail to 375 Church Street, Suite 200, Dayton, TN 37321.

Include the person's full name, any dates you know, and case numbers if you have them. The county has seven business days to respond to your request. Standard copy fees apply: $0.15 per page for black and white and $0.50 for color copies. If the search takes more than one hour of staff time, additional labor charges may be assessed.

Under TCA Section 10-7-504, some records are not available for public access. Active criminal investigation files, juvenile records, and certain victim data are exempt. But standard booking information is always public in Rhea County.

State Resources for Rhea County Arrests

The TBI's TORIS background check system provides statewide criminal history searches. A name-based check costs $29 and includes arrests from Rhea County that were submitted with fingerprints. Go to the TORIS portal to run a search. Results come back right away in most cases.

FOIL at foil.app.tn.gov is free and shows felony offenders in state custody. It covers prison inmates, parolees, and probationers across Tennessee. FOIL does not include county jail inmates or misdemeanor offenders from Rhea County. For county-level data, use the inmate info page on the county website.

VINELink at vinelink.com offers free custody tracking for offenders in Rhea County and across the state. You can register for alerts when someone is released, transferred, or escapes. The service runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Tennessee Courts at tncourts.gov offers case lookup and court forms. If an arrest in Rhea County led to criminal charges, the court system may have docket and case status information available online.

Clearing Arrest Records in Rhea County

Tennessee law permits expungement of certain arrest records. TCA Section 40-32-101 sets the rules. The Clean Slate Act of 2022 expanded which records qualify, adding some non-violent misdemeanors and Class E felonies. You must have completed your entire sentence, including probation, fines, and any waiting period.

File your petition in the Rhea County court where the conviction happened. Forms are available on the Tennessee Courts website for people filing without a lawyer. The process takes 6 to 12 weeks on average. Once granted, the record is sealed from public view in Rhea County and all statewide databases.

Cities in Rhea County

Rhea County includes Dayton, Spring City, and Graysville. All arrests in the county are processed through the Rhea County jail in Dayton.

Nearby Counties

Rhea County shares borders with five other Tennessee counties. Check the right jurisdiction before you search for arrest records.

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