Rochester Hills Arrest Records

Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County with roughly 76,000 residents. The Rochester Hills Police Department handles local law enforcement, and arrest records from the city flow into several public systems. This page explains where to find those records, how each database works, and what steps to take whether you need a background check, want to look up a case, or are trying to understand your own record.

Rochester Hills Police Department

The Rochester Hills Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the city. They make arrests, write reports, and keep arrest logs that are part of the public record under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. The department is located at 2828 Dalton Dr, Rochester Hills, MI 48309. You can reach them at 248-656-4680 for non-emergency questions. Call 911 for any emergency.

To request police reports or arrest logs directly from the department, you file a FOIA request. Michigan law, MCL 15.231 et seq., gives the public the right to inspect and copy public records. The police department has five business days to respond to your request. Some documents may be exempt if they relate to an open investigation or would interfere with a case. You can submit a request by mail or in person at the Dalton Drive address. The city's website at rochesterhills.org has contact information for the records unit.

Arrest logs and incident summaries are the most common items people ask for. These show the name of the person arrested, the date, the charge, and often the location of the arrest. Not every arrest leads to a conviction. An arrest record is not proof of guilt.

52nd District Court Records

The 52nd District Court, Division 2, handles misdemeanor cases and preliminary hearings for felonies that originate in Rochester Hills. It is located at 4800 Livernois Rd, Troy, MI 48098, and the phone number is 248-528-0480. This court processes cases from Rochester Hills along with cases from Troy and a few other communities in the area.

Court records are public in Michigan, and you can search them online through the state's case search tool. The image below shows what the Michigan court case search portal looks like. You can search by name, case number, or date range to find cases handled at the 52nd District Court. Felony cases eventually move up to Oakland County Circuit Court, so some records will be there instead.

The Michigan Courts case search tool is one of the easiest ways to check for active or closed cases. Visit courts.michigan.gov/case-search/ to run a search. The portal covers district and circuit courts across the state.

The Michigan court case search portal, available at courts.michigan.gov/case-search/, lets you look up criminal and civil cases by name or case number across Michigan's court system.

ICHAT: Michigan's Statewide Criminal History Search

ICHAT stands for Internet Criminal History Access Tool. It is run by the Michigan State Police and lets you search for a person's felony and misdemeanor convictions that are part of the state's criminal history database. The service is authorized under MCL 28.241. Each search costs $10, paid online by credit or debit card.

ICHAT does not show arrests that did not result in a conviction. It shows convictions, not charges. So if someone was arrested in Rochester Hills but the case was dismissed or they were found not guilty, that arrest will not appear in ICHAT. This is an important distinction. Many people confuse arrest records with conviction records. They are not the same thing. You can access ICHAT through the Michigan State Police at apps.michigan.gov/ichat/.

ICHAT is a good tool when you need a verified, state-level background check. The results are official and come directly from the Michigan State Police records system. Results are returned quickly, usually within minutes of payment.

Oakland County Inmate Search and OTIS

If someone was arrested in Rochester Hills and is currently held at the Oakland County Jail, you can check their status through the CLEMIS inmate search. CLEMIS is a shared records system used by law enforcement agencies across Oakland County. The inmate lookup tool is available at apps.clemis.org/ClemisInmLoc. It shows current inmates, booking dates, charges, and bond information. It is updated regularly and free to use.

For people who are serving or have served a state prison sentence, the Michigan Department of Corrections runs OTIS, which stands for Offender Tracking Information System. OTIS covers individuals sentenced to state prison, not county jail. It shows current status, sentence information, and supervision details. You can access OTIS at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2/otis2.html.

The image below shows the OTIS search interface. It is free and open to the public. If a person from Rochester Hills received a felony sentence and went to state prison, their record will appear here.

The OTIS offender search, hosted at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2/otis2.html, lets you search for individuals under Michigan Department of Corrections supervision, including those with Rochester Hills-related cases.

Keep in mind that OTIS and CLEMIS cover different populations. CLEMIS shows current county jail detainees. OTIS shows state prison cases. If you're not sure which applies, start with CLEMIS for recent arrests and OTIS for past felony cases.

Sex Offender Registry

Michigan maintains a public sex offender registry under state law. It is called the Public Sex Offender Registry, or PSOR. You can search it at mspsor.com. The registry lets you search by name, zip code, or address. Results show the person's photo, address, and offense information. It is free to use.

If you want to check whether registered sex offenders live near an address in Rochester Hills, the zip code search works well. The registry is updated when offenders report changes to their address or status. Michigan law requires registered offenders to update their information regularly.

Michigan Clean Slate and Record Expungement

Michigan passed Clean Slate legislation that expanded who can get a conviction expunged from their record. The law is codified at MCL 780.621g. Under Clean Slate, some convictions can be set aside automatically after a waiting period, while others require a petition to the court.

Expungement removes a conviction from the public-facing criminal history databases like ICHAT. Once a record is expunged, it does not show up in standard background checks. However, law enforcement agencies can still see expunged records for certain purposes.

If you have an arrest record in Rochester Hills and want to know if it qualifies for expungement, the 52nd District Court at 4800 Livernois Rd in Troy can provide information. You can also look for help through Michigan Legal Help at michiganlegalhelp.org, which has plain-language guides on the expungement process.

Not all offenses qualify. Traffic offenses, certain sex crimes, and some other categories are excluded. The waiting period varies by offense type. It is worth checking your eligibility if you have an old conviction that is affecting your life.

How to Request Records in Rochester Hills

There are a few different ways to get arrest records related to Rochester Hills. Which method you use depends on what you need and why you need it.

• Rochester Hills Police Department FOIA request for incident reports and arrest logs (248-656-4680, 2828 Dalton Dr)
• Michigan Courts case search for 52nd District Court and Oakland County Circuit Court case information
• ICHAT for state-level conviction history ($10 per search)
• Oakland County CLEMIS for current jail inmate status
• OTIS for state Department of Corrections records

If you are doing research on your own record, you can request a copy of your criminal history directly from the Michigan State Police. This is different from a public ICHAT search and gives you more detail. Contact the State Police criminal justice information center for that process.

For court case records, you can also request certified copies in person at the 52nd District Court clerk's office. There may be a fee per page for printed copies. The clerk can tell you what is available and what the current copy fees are.

County and Nearby Cities

Rochester Hills is in Oakland County. The 52nd District Court Division 2 handles local cases. Nearby Troy shares the same district court. Other nearby communities include Warren in Macomb County.