Chugach Census Area Busted Mugshots

Chugach Census Area busted mugshots come from Valdez Police, Cordova Police, and the Alaska State Troopers Cordova and Valdez posts. The area was carved out of the old Valdez-Cordova Census Area in 2019. Most arrest records here pass through the Third Judicial District court at Valdez and the state inmate lookup tools. This page walks you through how to search for busted mugshots, find booking details, and pull court files for any name booked in the Chugach Census Area, whether the case sits with a city department or with the Troopers.

Chugach Census Area Police and Troopers

Two city police departments cover most arrests in the Chugach Census Area. The Valdez Police Department is the main agency for the City of Valdez. You can reach them at (907) 835-4560, and 911 in an emergency. The Cordova Police Department runs out of a shared building with the jail, fire crew, and the Alaska State Troopers post in Cordova. Both city departments take booking photos at the time of arrest. Both will release them on a written records request, so long as the case is closed and the person is an adult.

The Alaska State Troopers cover the rest of the census area. The Valdez Trooper post can be reached at (907) 835-4307. Troopers handle the unincorporated land outside Valdez and Cordova, plus highway patrol on the Richardson Highway. Wildlife Troopers also work the region for hunting and fishing cases. Until 2016, Troopers ran most of the policing for the southern part of the old Valdez-Cordova area. Today the work is split between the city departments and the Troopers, with backup from each side when a case crosses jurisdictions.

Trooper arrests show up on the daily dispatch logs, which is the fastest free way to see fresh arrests in the Chugach Census Area. Each entry has an incident number, a location, a charge type, and a short narrative. You can search by date and by post.

Chugach Census Area Court Records

The Chugach Census Area sits in the Third Judicial District. Felony cases, civil cases over $100,000, divorces, and probate go to Superior Court in Valdez. District Court hears misdemeanors, small claims, and civil cases under $100,000. Cordova has its own court facility for District Court matters. Public access terminals are open at both court locations during business hours so you can pull case files without paying a research fee.

Most folks start with CourtView, the free Alaska court case lookup. CourtView is also at records.courts.alaska.gov. You can search by name, case number, or ticket number. Case numbers in the Third District start with the number 3 followed by a location code, like 3VA for Valdez or 3CO for Cordova. Cases tagged CR are criminal. CI is civil. MO is a minor offense. Enter the dashes and leading zeros or you will get no result.

The trial courts directory above shows each court location for the Third Judicial District. Click into Valdez or Cordova to find the clerk phone, the address, and the office hours. CourtView is free for the basic case search. Certified copies cost $10 for the first copy and $3 for each extra. Audio recordings on CD run $20 each. Research time, when a case number is not given, runs $30 per hour with a deposit up front.

Note: Under AS 22.35.030, court records of certain criminal cases must come off public websites 60 days after an acquittal or a full dismissal.

Chugach Census Area Inmate Lookup

People arrested in the Chugach Census Area often get held at a local lockup first, then moved to a state Department of Corrections facility. The Wildwood Correctional Complex in Kenai is the closest large facility to the south end of the census area. Lemon Creek in Juneau and Anchorage Correctional Complex also house inmates from this region depending on bed space and the type of charge. Use the Alaska Department of Corrections offender locator to find out where a person was sent.

VINE is the other tool worth knowing. The Victim Information and Notification Everyday system at vinelink.com lets you look up an inmate by name or booking number. You can also sign up for free alerts on custody changes. Call 1-800-247-9763 to register by phone. The service is confidential. The inmate is not told who is signed up to get the alerts. VINE is the same tool used statewide and it is run with the Alaska Department of Corrections.

For more recent booking info on a person held at a local jail, you may need to call the Valdez or Cordova police directly. Small jails often hold a person for less than 24 hours before the arraignment, and DOC will not show that hold on the offender page right away.

Chugach Census Area Records Requests

Booking photos, incident reports, and case files are public under the Alaska Public Records Act. Under AS 40.25.110, every person has the right to inspect a public record, with some narrow exceptions. Open investigations, juvenile cases, sealed records, and victim or witness identifying details are not released. AS 40.25.120 lists the exemptions and gives agencies 10 working days to respond. The Alaska Department of Law APRA page spells out how to write a clean request that does not get denied for being too vague.

For Valdez Police records, mail or drop off a written request at the Valdez public safety building. Include the full name of the subject, the date of the arrest if you know it, and a phone or email so the records clerk can reach you. Cordova Police take requests at the joint public safety building on the same terms. Written letters get a faster reply than phone calls. Responses are often back in 5 to 10 working days for a simple report. A felony file with multiple defendants and digital evidence can take longer.

Statewide criminal history reports come from the Alaska Department of Public Safety in Anchorage. A name-based check is $20 and a fingerprint check is $35. Under AS 12.62.160, any person can request criminal justice information, though misuse can bring criminal charges. The DPS Records and Identification Bureau is at 5700 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507. Walk-in hours are 8:15 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday.

Note: AS 12.61.110 makes the home and business address and phone of a crime victim or witness confidential, so those details get redacted from any release.

Warrants and Sex Offender Search in Chugach

Outstanding warrants in the Chugach Census Area show up on CourtView. Every criminal case in Alaska starts with a charging document, and most arrests need a warrant from a magistrate first. If you want to know whether a name has an open warrant, run the name in CourtView, then click the case to see the case status and the docket entries. Active warrants get flagged on the case header. Some Trooper warrants also show up in the daily dispatch logs.

The Alaska Sex Offender Registry at sor.dps.alaska.gov covers Valdez, Cordova, and the smaller villages in the Chugach Census Area. The registry is run by the Department of Public Safety under AS 18.65.087. You can search by name, by city, or by zip code. The map view shows offenders within a set radius of an address. The registry holds more than 3,600 names statewide and is updated often as offenders register, move, or come off the rolls.

Cities and Nearby Boroughs

The two main population centers in the Chugach Census Area are Valdez and Cordova. Neither city is over the population threshold for its own city page on this site, so they are mentioned here without a link. Whittier and Tatitlek are the other notable communities. For cases that cross over into the next region, see the Copper River Census Area, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, or the Kenai Peninsula Borough.