New Orleans Booking Reports
New Orleans booking reports are maintained by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office and the New Orleans Police Department. As the largest city in Louisiana, New Orleans processes a high volume of arrests each year, and all booking records are public under state law. You can search for recent arrests through the sheriff's office, request copies from NOPD, or use online portals to look up current inmates. The city's consolidated government structure means Orleans Parish and New Orleans share the same boundaries, so one set of agencies handles all booking data for the entire area.
New Orleans Quick Facts
New Orleans Booking Report Agencies
Two main agencies handle booking reports in New Orleans. The New Orleans Police Department makes the arrests and creates the initial arrest report. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office runs the jail and processes bookings once someone is brought in. Both agencies keep records that the public can request.
NOPD is based at 1615 Poydras Street in downtown New Orleans. You can reach them at (504) 658-5080 for records inquiries. The department uses a Community Oriented Policing approach and works with residents to address crime at the neighborhood level. When an officer makes an arrest, a booking report is created that includes the person's name, date of birth, charges, and arrest details. Under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 228, officers must book an arrested person right away, and those booking records are always open for public inspection.
| NOPD | 1615 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-5080 |
|---|---|
| OPSO | 2800 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 70119 Phone: (504) 202-9339 |
| Criminal District Court | 2700 Tulane Avenue, Room 104, New Orleans, LA 70119 Phone: (504) 658-9000 |
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office at 2800 Perdido Street handles the jail side of things. Call them at (504) 202-9339 for inmate info or booking questions. Once a person is booked at the Orleans Parish jail, the sheriff's office keeps the record on file. Court records from cases that go to trial are held at the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court at 2700 Tulane Avenue.
How to Search New Orleans Booking Reports
There are a few ways to search for booking reports in New Orleans. Online tools give you fast access from home. You can also call or visit in person. Each method has its own benefits depending on what you need.
The New Orleans data portal at data.nola.gov offers public datasets that include crime stats and incident data. While this portal focuses on aggregate data and trends, it can help you confirm dates and locations of arrests in New Orleans. The city publishes this data as part of its transparency efforts. For individual booking records with names and charges, you will want to go through the sheriff's office or NOPD directly.
The city homepage at nola.gov lists links to various city departments, including NOPD. From there you can find contact info for records requests and learn about current policing initiatives in New Orleans.
This is the main city website where residents can find links to NOPD, public safety resources, and contact information for various departments that handle arrest and booking data in New Orleans.
Note: Response times for records requests in New Orleans are typically within three business days as required by state law.
New Orleans Arrest Records and Public Access
Booking reports in New Orleans are public records. The Louisiana Public Records Act under RS 44:1 establishes that all records used in public business are open to the public. This includes booking logs, arrest reports, and inmate rosters. Anyone can request these records. You do not need to give a reason for your request.
RS 44:3 adds some detail to what counts as public when it comes to law enforcement. Arrest records have some limits before a case reaches final judgment, but booking records themselves and police log books stay open. In New Orleans, this means you can walk into NOPD or the sheriff's office and ask to see the booking log. The staff must let you inspect it. That is the law.
Fees for copies of New Orleans booking reports range from $0.25 to $1.00 per page. Mugshot copies cost between $5 and $25 per photograph, depending on the format. Certified copies run higher than plain ones. If you just need to look at the booking log and do not need paper copies, there is no charge for inspection.
New Orleans Crime Data Portal
New Orleans runs a public data portal that gives access to crime and public safety information. You can find it at data.nola.gov. The portal is part of the city's push for open government and data-driven policing. It includes datasets on calls for service, crime incidents, and other public safety metrics.
The data portal helps residents track patterns and view crime statistics by neighborhood. While it does not list individual booking reports by name, it serves as a useful tool for seeing how many arrests happen in a given area of New Orleans over a set time frame. Reporters, researchers, and community groups use this data regularly.
For individual booking records with full details, you still need to go through NOPD or the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. The data portal and individual booking records serve different purposes, but both fall under the public's right to access government information.
Booking Reports and State Records
Louisiana is what officials call a "closed record state" when it comes to full criminal history. That sounds confusing since booking reports are public. Here is the difference. Booking records from the local jail are open. Full criminal history records kept by the Louisiana State Police through the LACCH system are restricted under RS 15:587. Only certain authorized agencies can pull those records.
The Louisiana Automated Victim Notification System (LAVNS) through VineLink is one public tool that can help. It lets you look up people who are currently in custody at the state level. The system updates every 24 hours. You can search by name or ID number. If someone was arrested in New Orleans and transferred to state custody, LAVNS may show their current location and status.
RS 15:574.12 keeps most prison records confidential. Only basic facts like age, offense, date of conviction, sentence length, and misconduct while locked up are public. But local booking reports from the Orleans Parish jail are a separate matter entirely. Those stay open under Article 228 and RS 44:1.
Note: The Louisiana State Police charge $31 for a formal state background check, which is separate from a local booking report request.
Orleans Parish Booking Reports
New Orleans and Orleans Parish cover the same area. All booking reports filed in the city go through the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. For more details on the parish court system, jail operations, and related records, check the full Orleans Parish booking reports page.
Nearby Cities
Several cities near New Orleans also have their own booking report resources. If someone was arrested in a neighboring area, you may need to check with that city's parish sheriff office instead.