# California Crime Finder-Phone

> California criminal statutes reference tool for legal practitioners. (iPhone/iPad app by The PlacerGroup.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/california-crime-finder-phone/id447498678 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [The PlacerGroup](https://appshunter.io/developer/416014076)
- Category: Reference
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.40/5 from 141 App Store ratings · 76 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 16 · 51 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-07-08
- Data updated: 2026-09-01
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/california-crime-finder-phone/id447498678/reviews.md

## What is California Crime Finder?

A crime finder application from the makers of CrimeTime. Designed for legal practitioners by legal practitioners actively working in the field. This is a quick reference tool for looking up most of the California Statutes as they pertain to criminal law.

Features:
-Quick description or section number search
-Advanced filter and full text search with results being highlighted in the statute text.
-No network connection required
-Elements of each crime
-Punishment text for each crime
-Easily see the collateral consequences of each crime with descriptions narrowed down to the specific authority text, making it easy to find the justification of each result
-Immigration consequences
-Two Week free trial

-In-App Purchases Offered
-An In-App purchase of a year long subscription is available within the app.
-Each yearly subscription includes any updates and revisions that apply for that subscription period
-Subscriptions are not auto-renewing

## Key features

- Quick search by description or section number
- Advanced filter and full text search
- Offline access
- Elements and punishments for each crime
- Collateral and immigration consequences
- Highlighted search results

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| annual subscription to California Crime Finder | $39.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #158 in Top Grossing · Reference (US App Store)

## What do users think of California Crime Finder?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 Extremely helpful for legal research
- 👍 Great for criminal attorneys
- 👍 Useful for law students
- 👍 Easy to navigate when working
- 👍 Excellent reference for laws
- 👍 Handy for court use
- 👍 Clean and easy interface
- 👍 Works offline
- 👍 Replaces hard copy codes
- 👍 Breaks down crime elements

**Cons**

- 🐛 App crashes on launch
- 🐛 App stops working
- 🐛 Subscription issues
- 🐛 Expensive subscription
- 🐛 Errors in legal details
- 🐛 Search function limitations
- 🐛 GUI is difficult to read
- 🐛 Black screen on launch
- 🐛 Charged twice without access
- 🐛 Not worth the cost

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes every time it opens
- App shuts off immediately upon opening
- App stopped working for months
- App crashes when opening
- App won't open after update
- Subscription expired message despite payment
- App crashes when signing in
- App crashes when searching with keywords
- App restarts when typing certain penal codes
- Black screen on iPhone 6+
- App freezes and goes to black screen on launch
- App says no subscription despite payment
- App freezes
- App won't open at all
- New app doesn't open
- App keeps saying invalid subscription
- App won't open after update
- App kicked out of subscription after update
- App can't open at all after upgrade
- App does not stay open
- App crashes after update
- App won't open
- New version crashes immediately
- App shuts off and disappears on opening
- App crashes making it useless
- App crashes every single time you want to go one step back

**Most requested features**

- Improve search function
- Update for new laws/props
- Add keyword search
- Make search more flexible
- Add juvenile court info
- Improve search capabilities
- Add more elements to crimes
- Include citable case law
- Correct moral turpitude determinations
- Improve search for sex crimes

## Recent user reviews (10 of 76)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/california-crime-finder-phone/id447498678/reviews.md

### 1/5 — App Malfunctions Every Time Despite Paid Subscription

*2024-07-31*

I have reached out to support numerous times. The app simply does not work for me and crashes each time I try to launch it. I tried deleting the app and reinstalling it, but nothing works. The support team has been unable to assist me and I was not refunded.

### 5/5 — Refresh is Great

*2024-05-27*

They recently refreshed the app, and now have CalCrims for many statutes, which is super helpful. Extremely niche app, but excellent at what it is designed to do. More than happy to put up with some bugs as the app is highly functional despite the occasional issue.

### 1/5 — Fix it or refund please.

*2022-06-30*

App shuts off as soon as you open it. When it works it’s great and with the money. Right now I’m paying for literally nothing.

### 1/5 — App Does not Work

*2022-06-08*

This app was heaven sent. One day, the app stoppped working. It will not even open. This app has been broken for several months. Did I forget to mention that this is a PAID service?

### 2/5 — App Stopped Working

*2022-06-01*

When the app works it’s actually good and easy to navigate. However, the app just stopped working one day. It has been months since I’ve been able to open it.

### 1/5 — app crashing

*2022-05-05*

this app just crashes every time i try to open it.

### 1/5 — Crashes when opening

*2022-04-29*

I was a frequent user of this app.   Now it just crashes every time it opens.   I emailed the company, but I have received no response.

### 1/5 — Was great until didn’t work anymore!

*2022-04-20*

This app is great! As a criminal defense attorney I use this quickly in researching charges but starting at the beginning of April the app won’t even open! Fix please!

### 1/5 — APP CRASHING WHEN OPENING! HELP PLEASE!

*2022-04-09*

I am a district attorney and I have used this app since I started. Almost everyone I know - DAs and defense (and some judges) - use this. however, since the last update, THE APP CRASHES EVERY TIME I TRY TO OPEN IT! I wrote and email to their “help line” 2 weeks ago about this and have heard nothing back. I can’t even cancel my payments bc I’d need to be able to log into the app to do that! I need to be able to use this — PLEASE FIX ASAP!! 

Note - I would give this app 5 stars if I could use it. It was a life saver.

### 1/5 — App Crashes and Won’t Open after recent update

*2022-04-05*

In hopes of getting the app developer’s attention, I am writing this review. Since the most recent update, the app crashes immediately upon opening. I am a paying subscriber who uses the app regularly for work. I even left a comment on the PlacerGroup contact form to fix this bug ASAP but nothing has been done.

Please patch this bug or give me a refund.

Thank you.

## Frequently asked questions about California Crime Finder

### What does the California Crime Finder app do?

This app serves as a quick reference tool for looking up California statutes pertaining to criminal law. It provides detailed information on crime elements, punishments, and collateral consequences, designed specifically for legal practitioners.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include quick search by description or section number, advanced filter and full text search with highlighted results, offline access, and detailed information on crime elements, punishments, collateral consequences, and immigration consequences.

### How much does the California Crime Finder app cost?

The app offers a two-week free trial. After the trial, a year-long subscription is available as an in-app purchase. Subscriptions are not auto-renewing and include updates and revisions for the subscription period.

### Is this app compatible with my device?

The provided description does not specify device compatibility. However, as a mobile application, it is designed to run on smartphones and tablets. Users can typically check compatibility details on the app store page.

### Who would benefit from using this app?

This app is ideal for legal practitioners, such as lawyers and attorneys, who actively work in California criminal law. It helps them quickly find and reference relevant statutes, understand crime details, and identify potential consequences for their cases.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 6.52 — 2026-08-28

Updates to the Jury Instruction and statute mappings.

### 6.51 — 2026-04-14

This update implements the 2026 changes to the CA Jury Instructions.

### 6.50 — 2026-04-07

Fixes some minor errors in the app subscription debugging code.

### 6.49 — 2026-04-01

Some mis-categorized 1170(h) values have been fixed. Also, some jury instruction have been removed from a few crimes where they shouldn't have been included.

### 6.48 — 2026-03-08

This release integrates the 2026 California statute changes.

## Apps similar to California Crime Finder

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [CA Penal Code 2026](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ca-penal-code-2026/id790413905) | 4.5 (38) | $19.99 | Reference |
| [PocketBrainBook for Police](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocketbrainbook-for-police/id1361636418) | 3.9 (102) | Free | Reference |
| [LEO Geomatch](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/leo-geomatch/id595458598) | 4.0 (39) | $2.99 | Reference |
| [RivCoGo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rivcogo/id1063351522) | 1.8 (22) | Free | Reference |
| [California Laws  (CA Code)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/california-laws-ca-code/id521567234) | 4.7 (206) | Free | Reference |
| [Officer Down Memorial Page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/officer-down-memorial-page/id823493483) | 4.5 (89) | Free | Reference |

## More apps by The PlacerGroup

- [California Crime Finder - Pad](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/california-crime-finder-pad/id446501335)

All apps by The PlacerGroup: https://appshunter.io/developer/416014076

## Related topics

[california penal code](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/california-penal-code)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-01.*