I’m Kayla, and I actually used LaPorte County Busted for a full month. I checked it most mornings, like coffee and the weather. Not proud of that, but it’s true. I wanted to see if it was useful, or just noise. Turns out, it’s both. Let me explain.
What it is (at least how I used it)
It’s a page that posts arrest info and mugshots from LaPorte County. I followed the Facebook page on my phone (iPhone and a cheap Android I keep for testing). I also checked a site that looked like it was pulling the same booking data. Same faces, same charge lists, lots of ads.
New posts hit fast. Weekends were busy. Holidays even more so. Fair week was wild.
How it felt, day to day
First week in, I turned on Facebook alerts. Bad idea. My phone buzzed nonstop. The comments were loud and mean. I got jumpy. I turned alerts off and just checked at lunch. That helped.
On my Android, the site crawled. Pages stuck. Pop-up ads stacked. My battery dipped hard. Chrome on iPhone worked better, but not by much. You know what? It felt like my phone was wading through mud.
Real things that happened to me while using it
- I searched my own last name. Nothing. Good.
- I typed in a name close to my neighbor’s. A post popped up with the same first and last name, different middle initial. My neighbor’s mom called me, near tears. She thought it was him. It wasn’t. We checked the birth year and the docket on the county site. Not him. One letter off can wreck a day.
- A coworker asked if I knew how to get a post removed. Their relative had a charge dismissed. The mugshot was still up and shared all over town. We messaged the page and gave the case number and the dismissal file. It took about a week, and they did remove the original post. But the shared screenshots stayed on other pages. That part stung.
- I spotted a night where they listed a charge wrong. A simple letter swap. I sent a note with the case number and a link to the court summary. They fixed it the next day. Quick fix, but still—imagine seeing your life spelled wrong like that.
- I tried viewing during fair week from the parking lot. The page froze twice. I had to reload. My friend joked, “Even the mugshots are buffering.”
The good stuff (yes, there is some)
- It’s fast. If there’s a big bust, it shows up quick.
- For folks who watch public safety, it’s a pulse check.
- I liked when they added basic reminders: “Innocent until proven guilty.” It was there, even if the comments forgot it.
The parts that bugged me
- The comments. Whew. Rough, harsh, and hot. People dog-piled folks they didn’t know. It felt like a digital stockade.
- The posts live a long time. Even when charges change or drop, screenshots keep circling.
- Names repeat in this county. I saw two people with the same first and last name in one week. Easy to mix them up.
- The mobile experience is messy. Lots of ads. Slow scroll. Not great on older phones.
- It made my chest feel tight sometimes. That’s on me, but still. Not great mental hygiene.
Small things that helped me
- I checked the official court docket when I had doubts. The case number tells the real story.
- I stopped sharing posts. If I had to save something, I saved the link, not a screenshot.
- I turned off push alerts. I checked once a day, not all day.
- I taught my teen about public records. We talked about how one bad night gets posted fast and stays around.
- I spent a few minutes on ALCO’s public records hub to see the broader legal context before letting any single mugshot shape my view.
- And when the mugshots felt too heavy, I reset my brain by drooling over this first-person food sprint through Indy—because sometimes you need noodles, not news.
- When scrolling endless mugshots left me craving a reminder that adults can meet up under far happier circumstances, I hopped over to JustBang’s adult personals — it's a straightforward way to meet local, consenting adults for casual conversation or more, which felt like a healthy palate-cleanser after all that courthouse doomscrolling.
- If my road trips take me farther south—say, a long weekend swing through Chapel Hill—and I want a classifieds-style space that feels as intuitive as old-school Craigslist, I bookmark Doublelist Chapel Hill, where you’ll find up-to-date local listings and practical safety tips for connecting with real people without getting buried in spam.
Who this is actually for
- Folks who track local crime like they track high school sports.
- Reporters and scanners-and-coffee people.
- Not great for anyone who spirals with bad news. Or gossips. Or teens.
If your interest in LaPorte County goes beyond the police blotter—say, you're thinking about putting down literal roots—check out my candid story about buying land in the county.
Little quirks I noticed
- Weekends were heavy. Friday night, extra spicy.
- Holiday weekends popped.
- Names with common spellings showed up more. Felt like a pattern, but maybe that’s just how names are.
- I didn’t see minors posted, which is good. Still, I kept thinking about families scrolling past their own kid’s coach or cashier. It’s a small county.
If you need a post changed or removed (what worked for us)
- Get the case number and the court note that shows the change or dismissal.
- Message the page directly. Be calm. Short and clear.
- Give them a few days. We saw a week in one case.
- Ask friends to delete shares too. That’s the hard part, honestly.
Final take
LaPorte County Busted is fast and loud. It shows what’s going on, in real time. It also stirs the pot. It helps some folks keep watch. It also hurts people who are still sorting things out in court.
Would I keep following? I’ll check it, but no alerts. I’ll cross-check with the court site. And I won’t share faces like trading cards.
My score: 3 out of 5. Useful, but handle with care. And maybe with gloves.