This update marks a major step forward for TexArrest. Multiple systems are now running in parallel, fully automated, and posting arrest records faster than ever.
📂 Arrest Records Without Mugshots (New Category)
TexArrest has officially expanded coverage to include arrest records that contain booking and arrest details but do not have an associated mugshot.
These records are categorized under “No Mugshot Available.”
Not all agencies publish booking photos, and some mugshots are delayed or never released. By including these records, TexArrest avoids data gaps and ensures arrest visibility is not dependent on whether an image exists.
🤖 Williamson County (WilCo) — Fully Automated & Stable
Williamson County is now 100% automated, requiring no human intervention.
The final blocker was an expiring session cookie with a one-hour lifespan, which caused mugshot image requests to return 404 errors even when images existed. That issue has now been fully resolved.
WilCo is now:
- Stable
- Automated
- Posting consistently
Daily scrapes are now being launched to capture the most current available records.
🧪 Bonus Win: Recovering Missed Mugshots
While implementing the “No Mugshot Available” placeholder, we uncovered an unexpected benefit:
- True no-image records correctly received the placeholder
- Some records remained blank instead of receiving the placeholder
Those blank records indicated a failed scrape, not a missing mugshot.
After re-scraping those records:
Mugshots were successfully recovered.
This improved accuracy across the entire WilCo dataset and reduced false “no mugshot” cases.
🚔 APD Scraping — Fully Operational
Austin Police Department (APD) scraping has been fully operational and running reliably.
TexArrest is:
- Posting APD mugshots as soon as they are released online
- Keeping pace with APD’s public search system
- Publishing records without delay
APD is now one of the most consistent and real-time data sources on TexArrest.
📍 Collin County — Daily Arrest Records Flowing
Collin County scraping is also fully functional and automated.
- Daily arrest records are being captured and posted
- Mugshots are processed reliably
- No manual intervention required
At this point, TexArrest is posting faster than any other mugshot or arrest aggregation site currently operating.
⚡ TexBot — Almost Ready
Development on TexBot is nearing completion.
TexBot is the automation layer that ties everything together:
- Detects new arrests across counties
- Handles discovery, scraping, and posting
- Reduces latency between arrest and publication
Once released, TexBot will ensure that when someone is arrested in Texas, the public record becomes available online quickly and for free.
We don’t believe access to public arrest data should be a paid service.
⚠️ The Registered Sex Offender Dataset — Legal Reality Check
One dataset under consideration has been the full Texas registered sex offender database. While the data exists publicly, releasing it comes with significant legal and regulatory friction in Texas.
Some of the reasons include:
- Texas law places strict controls on how sex offender registry data may be redistributed
- There are enhanced penalties for misuse, mislabeling, or improper presentation
- Certain registry data is restricted to specific use cases and platforms
- Texas applies different legal standards to registry data than to standard arrest records
This creates a situation where:
- Mugshot arrest records are easier to publish
- Convicted sex offender datasets face heavier restrictions
Why this distinction exists is unclear, and it’s frustrating—especially given the public safety concerns involved—but TexArrest will not publish data that could create legal exposure or misrepresentation.
We’re continuing to evaluate lawful, responsible ways to handle this data.
📊 Where Things Stand
- ✅ WilCo fully automated
- ✅ APD scraping live and real-time
- ✅ Collin County posting daily
- 📂 “No Mugshot Available” category live
- 🤖 TexBot nearly ready
- 📅 Daily WilCo scrapes launching
- ⚖️ Sex offender dataset under legal review
TexArrest is no longer just scaling — it’s operating at speed.
More updates coming soon.