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 2, 2026.
Opelika, Alabama, in Lee County, has about 35,000 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 Lee 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: Opelika public records, Lee County arrest records, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Opelika
The FBI lists Opelika with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Opelika Police Department. It reported 1,491 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 Lee County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 2,814 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Opelika Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Opelika: 1,491 for 2025, 1,455 for 2024, 1,469 for 2023, 1,746 for 2022 and 2,723 for 2019; 2020 and 2021 are missing months.
Opelika's 1,491 arrests in 2025 were up 2.5 percent from 1,455 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Opelika reported 1,038 arrests, against 1,013 in the same months of 2025.
Across Lee County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 7,036 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Opelika Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Opelika is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 390 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 424 beds, and it ran at 92 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 Lee County Sheriff's Office at leecosheriffal.gov/corrections/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Lee County Sheriff’s Office | Lee County Sheriff's Office), phone (334) 749-5651, 1900 Frederick Road Opelika, AL 36801, Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Opelika
An arrest in Opelika can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Lee County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Lee County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at lee.alacourt.gov, phone (334) 737-3526).
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 Opelika
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 Opelika police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at opelika-al.gov/1075/Records-and-Reports (page title: Records and Reports | Opelika, AL), phone 334-705-5295, 501 S 10th Street Opelika, AL 36803, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Lee County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (334) 749-5651.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Lee County Circuit Court, through the court records page at lee.alacourt.gov, phone (334) 737-3526.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
The Lee County guide covers every agency in the county: Lee County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Opelika each year?
Opelika reported 1,491 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Opelika?
Look on the custody page of the Lee County Sheriff's Office at leecosheriffal.gov/corrections/inmate-search, or call (334) 749-5651. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Opelika booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Lee County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Opelika?
The court files of criminal cases in the Lee 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 Opelika?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Opelika police for its own arrests, the Lee 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.
Is this the official Opelika 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.