Data You Give Us Directly
Search Queries
A name or place entered in a search tool is sent to the outside provider that operates that tool. The provider processes the query and supplies its response. Mitchell County Criminal History does not keep or log those search terms on its own systems.
Messages and Contact Submissions
An email or direct message may be retained long enough to answer and maintain the related correspondence. It remains within our organization unless disclosure is required by a valid legal obligation.
Data We Gather Automatically
Our systems receive basic technical details when a page loads. Those details can include:
- Page-view dates and times
- The pages opened and time spent on them
- Device type and operating system
- Browser name and version
- The referring website, when supplied
- The device IP address
Cookies and Analytics
Cookies are small files placed on a device. They help show, in aggregate, which pages visitors use and where a visit ends. Analytics providers assist with that traffic analysis. A browser can reject or remove cookies, though a blocked cookie may change how part of the website works.
What We Do With This Data
- Route a search request to the selected outside provider
- Maintain website performance and availability
- Diagnose errors and other technical faults
- Measure which pages are useful or need revision
- Present advertising that may reflect visitor interests
No Criminal-Record Data on File
Mitchell County Criminal History does not maintain, compile, or sell a database of personal criminal records. It identifies official access routes through the Mitchell County Sheriff, Iowa District Court, the Iowa Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Sex Offender Registry. The website is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Visitor data is not assembled into a consumer report or a third-party criminal record.
Third-Party Search Partners
Outside companies power the search boxes. Information entered there is handled under that provider’s privacy policy, retention rules, and sharing practices, not this policy. Review those terms before sending a query because we do not control the provider’s systems.
Links to Other Websites
Links may lead to the Mitchell County government, Iowa court and agency portals, legal resources, or outside search services. Once a visitor follows a link, the destination’s privacy policy controls. Check that policy before providing personal information.
Advertising providers may use their own systems to measure activity across websites and select targeted ads. Their tracking does not run on systems controlled by Mitchell County Criminal History.
Who Might See Your Data
Personal information is not sold. Limited data can be available to:
- Analytics providers measuring traffic and performance
- Search partners processing a visitor’s chosen query
- Advertising networks serving ads on the pages
- Government or law-enforcement bodies acting under a valid legal order
How We Protect Your Data
Reasonable, standard safeguards are used for data under our control. No internet service can guarantee perfect security, so we cannot promise that unauthorized access or a breach will never occur.
Users Under 18
The website is intended for adults and does not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we learn that a minor supplied such data, it will be removed.
Your Data Rights
Applicable law may provide rights concerning personal data. Iowa Code chapter 22 governs access to public government records, while Iowa Code chapter 692 governs the dissemination and subject review of state criminal-history information. Those laws apply to the public agencies that hold those records, not to a private website. For information held by us, a person may:
- Request access to personal information held about that person
- Ask that inaccurate personal information be corrected
- Request deletion where the law permits it
- Object to certain processing where an applicable law provides that choice
Updates to This Policy
This policy may be revised as practices or legal duties change. A revised version will appear here with a new effective date.
Effective date: July 23, 2026