McAllen Recent Arrests
Recent arrests in McAllen are processed by the McAllen Police Department and the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office. McAllen has about 143,000 residents and sits in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border. The city police handle arrests within city limits, while the Hidalgo County Detention Center in Edinburg holds inmates for the county. Federal law enforcement is also very active in this area. You can search for arrest records through the Hidalgo County online inmate search, file a request with McAllen Police, or use statewide databases for court and criminal history information.
McAllen Arrest Records Overview
McAllen Arrest Processing
The McAllen Police Department handles all arrests within the city. The Crime Records Unit can be reached at (956) 681-2000. The department is at 1601 N. Bicentennial Boulevard. You can also send mail to P.O. Box 220, McAllen, TX 78505-0220. Officers investigate crimes ranging from drug offenses to property crime, and they work with federal agencies on border-related cases.
Inmates from McAllen are held at the Hidalgo County Detention Center at 701 El Cibolo Road in Edinburg. That facility has a capacity of 1,232 prisoners and sits on 54 acres. It is the 28th largest jail in the country. The jail phone is (956) 383-8114. The detention bureau runs around the clock. The facility is nationally accredited and has an online inmate search system.
| Police | McAllen Police Department |
|---|---|
| Address | 1601 N. Bicentennial Blvd McAllen, TX 78501 |
| Phone | (956) 681-2000 |
| Jail | Hidalgo County Detention Center 701 El Cibolo Road Edinburg, TX 78541 |
| Jail Phone | (956) 383-8114 |
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office also maintains arrest records. Their hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The fax number is (956) 393-6179, and you can email public.info@hidalgoso.org for records requests. The sheriff's office serves McAllen and all surrounding communities in Hidalgo County.
Searching McAllen Recent Arrests
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office has an online inmate search tool. You can look up current inmates by name and see their charges, bond amounts, and booking dates. That is the quickest free way to check on recent arrests in the McAllen area.
Below is a screenshot of the McAllen Police Department website.
The police website has information on the Crime Records Unit and how to submit records requests.
The Hidalgo County Detention Center also has its own page with information on visiting, inmate deposits, and bond details. Below is a screenshot of that system.
That portal covers all inmates held at the county facility, not just those arrested by McAllen Police.
For court records, the Texas Judicial Case Search covers Hidalgo County. The DPS Criminal History portal offers statewide criminal history searches. Federal arrests go through a separate court system, so check the federal PACER system if you think the arrest was made by a federal agency.
McAllen Arrest Record Details
Booking records from the Hidalgo County Detention Center include the inmate's name, charges, bond amount, arresting agency, and booking date. The facility operates around the clock, so new bookings show up at all hours. The online inmate search is updated as people are booked and released.
McAllen sits in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest border regions in the country. That means arrest activity here includes both local crime and border-related offenses. Drug trafficking, human smuggling, and immigration violations lead to arrests by both local and federal agencies. Federal cases go through a completely separate court system, so if the arrest was made by a federal agency, you will not find those records in the county system.
The Hidalgo County Detention Center is a nationally accredited facility. Visitation rules and dress codes are enforced. If you need to deposit money into an inmate's trust account, that goes through the Access Corrections system. The jail holds people from McAllen, Edinburg, Pharr, Mission, and all other Hidalgo County cities. Bond information is available through the sheriff's office or the online inmate search tool.
Arrest Records and Texas Law
Arrest records in Texas are public under the Texas Public Information Act, Government Code Chapter 552. Basic booking data is nearly always available. Section 552.108(c) allows law enforcement to hold back some details during active investigations. The Attorney General's office enforces compliance with the act.
The Government Code Chapter 411 covers state criminal history records kept by the DPS Crime Records Service. Section 411.135 sets access rules. Sealed and expunged records are not part of the public database. Visitation rules and dress codes are enforced at the Hidalgo County facility, and inmate trust deposits go through the Access Corrections system.
Nearby Cities With Arrest Records
Edinburg is the Hidalgo County seat and sits just north of McAllen. Pharr is right next door to the east. Mission is to the west. Brownsville is about 60 miles to the southeast in Cameron County. All of these cities are in the Rio Grande Valley and have their own police departments. The Hidalgo County jail in Edinburg serves most of them.
For records across all of Hidalgo County, visit the Hidalgo County page. It covers the detention center, sheriff's office, and county court system.
Hidalgo County Recent Arrests
McAllen is in Hidalgo County. The county detention center in Edinburg holds inmates from McAllen and all other Hidalgo County cities. Criminal cases go through the Hidalgo County court system. For complete details on jail searches, court records, and the open records process at the county level, see the county page.