Data You Give Us Directly
Search Queries
A name or location entered in a search tool is sent directly to the outside company that operates that tool. The provider handles the query and supplies any results. Botetourt County Criminal History does not retain or record those search terms on its own systems.
Messages and Contact Submissions
An email or other direct message may be kept as needed to prepare a response. It remains within the site team unless disclosure is required by a valid legal obligation.
Data We Gather Automatically
When a page loads, the site's servers automatically receive basic technical and usage details:
- Page-view times and dates
- The referring website, when one is provided
- The pages opened and the time spent on them
- Operating system and device category
- Browser name and version
- The device's assigned IP address
Cookies and Analytics
Small files called cookies help measure how people move through the site, including which pages receive traffic and where visits end. Analytics providers combine that activity into broader reports. A browser can refuse cookies, although disabling them may cause some site functions to work differently.
What We Do With This Data
Technical and submitted information is used only for the operational purposes listed here.
- Route a submitted search to the selected partner
- Maintain site availability and page speed
- Diagnose and repair technical faults
- Measure which pages are useful and where improvements are needed
- Display advertising that may reflect visitor interests
No Criminal-Record Data on File
Botetourt County Criminal History neither builds nor sells a database of personal criminal records. Its published material explains how to reach the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office, the courts in Fincastle, the Virginia Department of State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange, and the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. The site is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Visitor information is not compiled into consumer reports or profiles about other people.
Third-Party Search Partners
Independent companies operate the site's search boxes. A partner's privacy policy, retention rules, and sharing practices apply to data entered there. Those terms are outside this site's control, so review the applicable provider policy before submitting a query.
Links to Other Websites
Links may lead to Botetourt County offices, Virginia courts, state agencies, legal-aid resources, or outside search services. After leaving this site, the destination's privacy policy controls the visit. Check that policy before providing personal information.
Some advertising companies may use their own systems to follow activity across websites for interest-based advertising. That tracking is performed by those companies.
Who Might See Your Data
Personal information is not sold. It may be disclosed to or processed by:
- Advertising networks that serve ads on site pages
- Analytics vendors that measure traffic and performance
- Search providers that process a query you submit
- A government or law-enforcement body acting under a valid legal order
How We Protect Your Data
Reasonable, commonly used safeguards protect information collected by the site. No internet service can guarantee complete security, however, and this site cannot promise that unauthorized access will never occur.
Users Under 18
The site is intended for adults and does not knowingly collect personal data from anyone younger than 18. If information from a minor is identified, a deletion request may be made through the available contact route.
Your Data Rights
Rights vary with residence, the entity involved, and the law that applies. The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act provides qualifying consumers with rights under Virginia Code § 59.1-577, subject to the scope and exemptions in § 59.1-576. Official records follow different rules: the Virginia Freedom of Information Act is codified at § 2.2-3700 et seq., while Central Criminal Records Exchange dissemination is limited by § 19.2-389. Subject to those boundaries, you may ask to:
- Opt out of certain forms of processing where a legal right applies
- Request deletion of personal information
- Seek correction of inaccurate information
- Request access to personal information held about you
Updates to This Policy
This policy may be revised as site practices or legal duties change. A replacement version will appear here with its effective date, and continued use will be governed by the posted policy.
Effective date: August 10, 2026