Data You Give Us Directly
Search Queries
A name or place entered in a search tool is sent directly to the outside company operating that tool. The provider processes the entry and supplies its own results. Columbia County Criminal History does not keep or record those search terms on its systems.
Messages and Contact Submissions
When a visitor sends an email, we retain the message as needed to respond. It remains within our organization unless disclosure is required by a valid legal obligation.
Data We Gather Automatically
Loading a page can cause our servers to receive basic technical and usage details:
- Your device's assigned IP address
- The operating system and type of device used
- Browser name and version
- Visited pages and time spent on them
- Page-view dates and times
- A referring website, when one exists
Cookies and Analytics
The site uses cookies, which are small files placed on a device, to understand traffic patterns such as popular pages and common exit points. Analytics providers help combine that information into site-use reports. Visitors may block cookies through browser settings, although doing so can change how some features work.
What We Do With This Data
- Directing a search request to the selected partner
- Operating the site and maintaining reasonable load times
- Finding and repairing technical problems
- Measuring which pages are useful or need improvement
- Displaying advertising that may reflect visitor interests
No Criminal-Record Data on File
Columbia County Criminal History does not own, compile, sell, or maintain a database of personal criminal records. It publishes general directions to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, local criminal courts, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and the New York State Sex Offender Registry. The site is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Visitor data is not assembled into consumer reports or third-party criminal-history files.
Third-Party Search Partners
Independent companies power the search boxes. A partner's privacy policy, retention rules, and disclosure practices govern any information entered into its tool. We do not control those choices. Review the applicable partner policy before sending a query.
Links to Other Websites
Links may lead to Columbia County offices, New York courts, state agencies, legal-aid resources, or outside search services. Once a visitor follows an external link, the destination's privacy policy controls. Check that policy before providing personal information.
Some advertising providers may track activity across websites to select ads. Their systems, rather than ours, perform that tracking.
Who Might See Your Data
We do not sell personal information. Data may be disclosed to:
- Analytics providers that measure traffic and performance
- Search partners processing a visitor's chosen query
- Advertising networks serving ads on the site
- Government or law-enforcement bodies acting under a valid legal order
How We Protect Your Data
We use customary safeguards for information under our control. No internet-connected service is completely secure, however, so we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access or a breach will never occur.
Users Under 18
The site is intended for adults and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger than 18. If we learn that a minor supplied such information, we will delete it.
Your Data Rights
The New York Freedom of Information Law, Public Officers Law Article 6, governs access to records held by public agencies, not visitor data held by a private site. Criminal-history dissemination by DCJS is separately governed by Executive Law §837 and 9 NYCRR Part 6050. Those laws do not turn this site into a government records custodian or create a general private-site privacy code. Subject to applicable law and records we actually hold, a visitor may:
- Request access to personal information maintained about them
- Ask that inaccurate personal information be corrected
- Seek deletion of personal information where applicable
- Opt out of certain processing when a governing law provides that choice
Updates to This Policy
This policy may be revised. Any revision will appear on this page with an updated effective date, so visitors should review it periodically.
Effective date: August 1, 2026