The Villages Busted Mugshots Search

The Villages busted mugshots are maintained by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. The Villages is a large charter community that sits primarily in Sumter County, making it one of the fastest-growing places in the state with about 82,100 residents. When arrests happen in The Villages, the Sumter County Sheriff processes the booking at the detention center in Bushnell. You can search for mugshots and arrest records from The Villages through the county jail database. Florida public records law guarantees access to these booking records, and you can search without giving your name or explaining your purpose.

The Villages Arrest Records

The Sumter County Sheriff's Office handles law enforcement across much of The Villages. This community has its own public safety department as well, but arrests get processed through the county sheriff's system. The Sumter County Sheriff is located at 219 East Anderson Avenue in Bushnell and can be reached at 352-569-1700. When someone gets arrested in The Villages, they are taken to the Sumter County detention center for booking.

The Villages is a unique place in Florida. It is a charter community that has grown from a small retirement development into one of the largest concentrations of residents in the region. The population skews heavily toward retirees, but that does not mean arrests are rare. DUI cases, fraud, domestic incidents, and other charges come out of The Villages regularly. Each of these arrests results in a booking record and mugshot in the Sumter County system.

Because The Villages spans into portions of Lake and Marion counties as well, some arrests near the edges of the community may be processed through those counties instead of Sumter. If you cannot find a record in the Sumter County system, it is worth checking Lake or Marion county databases too.

Note: The Villages spans parts of three counties, but the primary jail for most arrests is Sumter County.

The Villages Mugshot Search Tools

The Sumter County Sheriff's detention center page provides information about the jail that processes The Villages bookings. The screenshot below shows this page with details on the detention center where mugshots and booking records from The Villages are held.

From the sheriff's website you can find links to the inmate search tool that shows current inmates with their booking photos, charges, and bond amounts. For The Villages arrests, search by name to find the specific booking record. The Florida Jail Information System is another resource that pulls data from jails across the state, including Sumter County.

The Villages Records Under Florida Law

Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes governs public records for The Villages arrest data. The law says that all records made or received by any agency are open for inspection and copying. This includes mugshots, charges, booking details, and bond information from arrests in The Villages. The Sumter County Sheriff must provide access to these records when asked. Section 119.01 is direct about this being a duty of every public agency in the state.

You do not need to provide your name or reason when searching for The Villages arrest records. Florida law protects anonymous requests. You do not need a written request either, though it helps to put things in writing for complex or specific requests. Standard copy fees are 15 cents per page for single-sided documents. Certified copies cost up to $1.00 each.

Exemptions are limited. Under Section 119.071, booking photos of law enforcement officers can be withheld if they have filed a confidentiality request. Sexual offense victim information is also protected. For the vast majority of arrests in The Villages, the entire record is public and accessible.

Sealing The Villages Busted Mugshots

Florida's seal and expunge process applies to The Villages arrests just like anywhere else in the state. Court-ordered sealing under Section 943.059 blocks public access to the record. Expungement under Section 943.0585 permanently destroys it. Both go through FDLE and cost $75 by money order.

Processing takes about 12 weeks. Contact the FDLE seal and expunge section at 850-410-7870 or email SEinfo@fdle.state.fl.us. If approved, the Sumter County Sheriff removes the record from public search tools. Not all arrests qualify. Prior sealing or expungement grants and certain offense types can disqualify you. Private mugshot websites are not covered by the court order and may continue to display the booking photo.

State Databases for The Villages

Several state databases help with finding The Villages arrest records beyond the county level. The Florida Department of State maintains a directory of all 67 county jail inmate searches. The Florida DOC offender search tracks people sentenced to state prison after arrests in The Villages or anywhere in the state. FDLE criminal history checks cost $24 and can be requested at 850-410-8109.

The Florida Sheriffs Association website is also useful for finding contact information for Sumter County and the neighboring counties that overlap with The Villages.

Note: If an arrest happened at the edges of The Villages, check Lake or Marion county databases too since the community spans three counties.

Sumter County Records

The Villages falls primarily in Sumter County. The Sumter County Sheriff's detention center at 219 East Anderson Avenue in Bushnell handles intake for most arrests in The Villages. Call 352-569-1700 for the sheriff's office. If the online inmate search does not show the record you need, submit a formal public records request to the Sumter County Sheriff. Sumter County is a smaller county by population compared to the urban centers of Florida, but The Villages has transformed it into one of the fastest-growing areas in the state, which also means a growing volume of arrest records.

Nearby Cities

The Villages is located in a more rural part of central Florida. There are no other qualifying cities in the immediate Sumter County area, but these nearby cities in surrounding counties have their own arrest records pages.