Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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 September 30, 2026.
Fort Payne, Alabama, in DeKalb County, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Fort Payne is held at the county jail, run by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people and common questions.
Related guides: Fort Payne public records, DeKalb County inmate search, Fort Payne arrest records, Fort Payne warrants, Fort Payne criminal records, Fort Payne court records, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Fort Payne
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Fort Payne is held at the county jail, run by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office at dekalbcountysheriff.org/inmate-roster/filters/current/booking_time=... (page title: Inmate Roster | DeKalb County Alabama Sheriff’s Office | Sort Booking Time | Descending | Page 1), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The DeKalb County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 150 people, down from about 260 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 381 beds, and it ran at 69 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
DeKalb County has about 73,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 21 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the DeKalb County Jail
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Fort Payne (filed by the FBI as Fort Payne Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Fort Payne.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in DeKalb County: Northeast Alabama Community College (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office's 646 for 2025, Fort Payne's 535 for 2025 and Rainsville's 304 for 2025.
Together, the nine agencies in DeKalb County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,049 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Fort Payne arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Fort Payne?
Look on the custody page of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office at dekalbcountysheriff.org. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the DeKalb County jail?
About 150 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 381 beds.
Is this the official Fort Payne 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.