Refugio County Police Records Search
Refugio County police records are managed by the Sheriff's Office in Refugio, Texas. This small Coastal Bend county has a population of about 6,800 people and sits between Victoria and Corpus Christi along the Gulf Coast. If you need an incident report, arrest file, or other law enforcement record from Refugio County, the Sheriff's Office is the place to check. Refugio is the county seat and the center of county government. Ranching and petrochemical industries are part of the local landscape. You can request police records by written request or by contacting the office directly.
Refugio County Overview
Refugio County Sheriff's Office
The Refugio County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement for the county. The office is in Refugio and handles patrol, criminal investigations, jail operations, and records keeping. Deputies cover the rural areas and small communities scattered across the county. The office also responds to calls on US Highway 77 and State Highway 35, which are the main routes through the area.
The county jail processes all local bookings. Staff keep incident reports, arrest records, and booking logs at the main office. The Sheriff's Office serves civil papers, executes warrants, and works with neighboring agencies on cases that cross county lines. Being in the Coastal Bend area, the office also deals with hurricane preparation and response when storms threaten the Gulf Coast.
| Office | Refugio County Sheriff's Office |
|---|---|
| Address |
808 Commerce Street Refugio, TX 78377 |
| Phone | (361) 526-2351 |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
| Website | Refugio County Website |
The screenshot below shows the Refugio County official website, which lists county departments and contact details.
From this site you can find phone numbers for the Sheriff, County Clerk, and other offices.
Getting Refugio County Police Records
Request police records from Refugio County by writing to the Sheriff's Office. Under the Texas Public Information Act, you can access government records without giving a reason. The agency must respond within 10 business days. Include dates, names, and report numbers in your request.
Standard copies cost $0.10 per page. Legal size pages are $0.15. Labor charges of $15.00 per hour apply for large or complex requests. If costs go over $40, you will get a written estimate first. The Texas Attorney General handles disputes about records access.
Note: Active criminal investigations may be exempt from public release until the case wraps up.
Refugio County Court Records
The Refugio County Clerk handles misdemeanor records and county filings. The District Clerk manages felony cases from the 24th District Court. Both offices are at the courthouse in Refugio. When a police arrest leads to charges, the court file ends up at one of these offices.
Refugio County falls under the 13th Court of Appeals district, based in Corpus Christi. Criminal appeals from Refugio County go through that court. The Texas Judicial Branch website has information on court structure and appellate opinions. The county handles a small number of cases each year given its population.
Texas Police Records Resources
The Texas DPS Crime Records Division keeps the statewide criminal history database with over 15 million conviction records. Name-based searches cost a few dollars per credit. Only convictions and deferred adjudication are available to the public. The TDCJ Offender Search is free for state prison inmate lookups.
Crash reports from Refugio County are in the TxDOT CRIS system at $6.00 to $8.00 each. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement offers free officer license verification. Crime victims can use the Texas VINE system for free custody alerts.
Under Government Code Chapter 552, most government records are public. The Code of Criminal Procedure requires law enforcement to report data to the state. Retention rules say incident reports and arrest records must be kept permanently. The Board of Pardons and Paroles provides victim notification at (800) 848-4284.
Refugio County Legal Help and Victim Alerts
Crime victims in Refugio County can use VINE to get free custody alerts. Register by phone at 1-877-894-8463 or online at vinelink.com. The system covers the Refugio County Jail and all Texas state prisons. VINE sends alerts for booking, release, transfer, and escape events by phone, email, or text. The service is anonymous and runs all day, every day.
The Board of Pardons and Paroles handles parole hearing notices at (800) 848-4284. Victims can submit written or phone input on release decisions for state inmates. The TDCJ Offender Search is free and updated nightly with inmate data going back to 1980.
For legal help, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid at (888) 988-9996 serves parts of the Coastal Bend and may assist Refugio County residents who meet income requirements. The State Bar of Texas referral line is (800) 252-9690. TexasLawHelp.org has free legal guides and court forms for people handling matters on their own. The Texas Sex Offender Registry lets you search for registered offenders in Refugio County by name or location at no charge.
Crash reports from Refugio County highways are in the TxDOT CRIS database. It holds over 20 million police-filed crash records. You can search by name, license number, VIN, or crash ID. Plain copies cost $6.00 and certified copies are $8.00. Reports go public 60 days after the crash date under Transportation Code Section 550.065. The TCOLE website provides free officer license checks for any Refugio County law enforcement personnel.
Cities in Refugio County
Refugio County includes the city of Refugio, Woodsboro, Austwell, and Bayside. Refugio is the county seat. All police records for unincorporated areas go through the Refugio County Sheriff's Office. None of the cities meet the size for a separate city page for a page with local police records details.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Refugio County in the Texas Coastal Bend region.