Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County, has about 196,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Jefferson County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Birmingham public records, Jefferson County arrest records, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Birmingham
The FBI lists Birmingham with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Birmingham Police Department. It reported 3,115 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,438 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Jefferson County: the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Jefferson State Community College, Miles College, Lawson State Community College and one more (campus police); the Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission Police (state agency); Norfolk Southern Railway and Trussville Fire Department Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit (other).
How Many Arrests Birmingham Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Birmingham: 3,115 for 2025, 3,160 for 2022 and 4,850 for 2019; 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
Through August 2026, Birmingham reported 2,717 arrests, against 2,017 in the same months of 2025.
Across Jefferson County, the 21 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 17,082 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Birmingham Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Birmingham and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 920 people, down from about 1,380 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 1,155 beds, and it ran at 80 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.jccal.org/NewWorld.InmateInquiry/AL0010000 (page title: Inmate Search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Birmingham
An arrest in Birmingham can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Jefferson County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at jefferson.alacourt.gov, phone (205) 325-5355); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jccal.org/370/District-Attorneys-Office---Birmingham, phone 205-325-5252).
Statewide, Alacourt is the statewide online index of Alabama trial court cases, sold by subscription.
Alabama does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Birmingham
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Alabama Public Records Law the agency must answer within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline, and it may charge a reasonable fee for copies.
- An arrest by the Birmingham police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at birminghamal.gov/government/city-departments/birmingham-police-depa... (page title: Records Division | City of Birmingham, Alabama), phone (205) 254-6308, Monday-Friday, 8am - 4:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 205-325-5252, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Jefferson County Circuit Court, through the court records page at jefferson.alacourt.gov, phone (205) 325-5355.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jeffersoncounty.nextrequest.com (page title: Public Record RequestsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
The Jefferson County guide covers every agency in the county: Jefferson County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Birmingham each year?
Birmingham reported 3,115 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Birmingham?
Look on the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.jccal.org. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Birmingham booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Birmingham?
The court files of criminal cases in the Jefferson County Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Alabama Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Birmingham?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Birmingham police for its own arrests, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Alabama Public Records Law the answer is due within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jeffersoncounty.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official Birmingham website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.