Data You Give Us Directly
Search Queries
A name or location entered in a search tool is sent directly to the outside provider that operates that tool. The provider processes the request and supplies its response. Sterling County Criminal History does not keep or log those search terms on its own systems.
Messages and Contact Submissions
When you email us, the message may be retained long enough to respond and maintain the exchange. It remains within our organization unless disclosure is required by law.
Data We Gather Automatically
Normal server and analytics logs can collect technical details as a page loads, including:
- Page-view timestamps and time spent on visited pages
- Your device type and operating system
- The referring website, when one is reported
- Your browser name and version
- The IP address used for the connection
- The pages requested during the visit
Cookies and Analytics
Cookies are small files saved on a device. They and outside analytics services help combine traffic information, such as popular pages and common exit points. Browser controls can block or remove cookies, although some site functions may then work differently.
What We Do With This Data
- Routing a search request to the selected partner service
- Finding and correcting technical problems
- Operating the site and monitoring load performance
- Understanding which reference pages are useful
- Displaying advertising that may reflect visitor interests
No Criminal-Record Data on File
Sterling County Criminal History does not maintain, assemble, or sell a database of personal criminal records. It publishes general directions to the Sterling County sheriff and courts, the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Records Division, and the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry. Visitor data is not turned into a record about another person or a consumer report. This site is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Third-Party Search Partners
Outside companies operate the search boxes. Their privacy terms, retention rules, and sharing practices govern data submitted through those tools. We do not control those practices, so review the applicable partner policy before running a search.
Links to Other Websites
Links may lead to a sheriff, court, Texas agency, legal resource, or outside search service. Once you leave this site, the destination's privacy policy controls. Read those terms before providing personal details.
Advertising companies may use their own systems to follow activity across websites for interest-based ads. Their tracking is not operated by us.
Who Might See Your Data
We do not sell personal information. Limited data may be available to:
- Analytics providers that measure traffic and performance
- Search partners that process a query you choose to submit
- Advertising networks serving material on the pages
- Government or law-enforcement bodies acting under a valid legal demand
How We Protect Your Data
Reasonable security practices are used to protect collected data. No internet system is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access or another breach will never occur.
Users Under 18
This resource is intended for adults and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If such data is identified, it may be requested for deletion.
Your Data Rights
Rights vary by residence and applicable law. Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 541, the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, may provide qualifying Texas consumers with rights over certain personal data. Separate rules govern public information and criminal-history dissemination under the Texas Public Information Act and Government Code Chapter 411. Subject to applicable limits, you may:
- Request access to qualifying personal data
- Ask that inaccurate data be corrected
- Seek deletion where the law provides that right
- Opt out of specified forms of processing
Updates to This Policy
This privacy policy may be revised. A changed version will be posted here with an updated effective date, and continued use will be governed by that version.
Effective date: August 10, 2026