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For Hanover County arrest records, use the Hanover Sheriff Records Unit for Sheriff-maintained arrest or incident documents, route communications records to their own custodian, and verify the filed criminal case through the Virginia court system.
Hanover Sheriff identifies the Records Unit as the law-enforcement record hub
The Hanover County Sheriff’s Office publishes a Records and FOIA page that identifies the Records Unit as the place for publicly available police reports and records checks. The office maintains incident reports and other law-enforcement records, while its published materials show that arrest documents are part of the Records Unit workflow. That makes the Sheriff the correct custodian when the question concerns a Hanover Sheriff arrest or incident record.
The same page also shows why “Hanover arrest records” cannot be treated as one universal file. Records related to a 911 call are routed to Emergency Communications, and the Virginia court case system is a separate judicial source after an arrest produces a filed case. A request should therefore be built around the record owner and event identifier, not just the county name.
Route a Hanover arrest question to the office that owns the record
| Need | Custodian | Useful key |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff incident or arrest document | Hanover Sheriff Records Unit | Name, incident/arrest number and date |
| Public records inspection/copy request | Hanover Sheriff FOIA process | Description of the existing record |
| 911-call record | Hanover Emergency Communications | Call date, time and location |
| Filed criminal case | Virginia Judiciary case system | Court and case number |
Three Hanover boundaries keep the request accurate
Agency
Confirm that Hanover Sheriff created the record
Another police agency’s file does not move to the Sheriff just because the event occurred in the county.
Document
Ask for the identifiable report or check
FOIA is a records-access route, not a request for a new investigative summary.
Court
Separate arrest paperwork from the judicial case
Use the court record for charges, hearings and disposition.
Build the Hanover record trail from the event outward
1
Identify the law-enforcement eventKeep the arrest or incident date and the agency that handled it.2
Use the Hanover Records Unit for sheriff documentsProvide the report or arrest identifier when it is known.3
Route communications records separatelyA 911-call record belongs with Emergency Communications.4
Use the Virginia case system for the prosecutionKeep the case number with any statement about judicial outcome.Related guide: How to look up criminal records