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 2024. 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 26, 2026.
Pell City, Alabama, in St. Clair County, has about 14,000 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 St. Clair 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: Pell City public records, St. Clair County arrest records, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Pell City
The FBI lists Pell City with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Pell City Police Department. It reported 509 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year. 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 St. Clair County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,999 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Pell City 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.
- Pell City: 509 for 2024 and 429 for 2022; 2023 is missing months.
Across St. Clair County, the eight agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,853 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Pell City Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pell City 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 2023 the jail held about 160 people, down from about 220 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 192 beds, and it ran at 81 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 St. Clair County Sheriff's Office at stclairsheriff.org/inmate-roster (page title: Inmate Roster | St. Clair County Sheriff's Office | Sort Booking Time | Descending | Page 1), 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 Pell City
An arrest in Pell City can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the St. Clair County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at stclair.alacourt.gov, phone (205) 594-2184); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at stclairco.com/160/District-Attorney, phone 205-338-9429).
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 Pell City
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 Pell City police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at pellcity.gov/policedepartment (page title: The City of Pell City -), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 205-338-9429, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the St. Clair County Circuit Court, through the court records page at stclair.alacourt.gov, phone (205) 594-2184.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at stclairsheriff.org/public-records-request (page title: Public Records Request | St. Clair County Sheriff's Office).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
The St. Clair County guide covers every agency in the county: St. Clair County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Pell City each year?
Pell City reported 509 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Pell City?
Look on the custody page of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office at stclairsheriff.org/inmate-roster. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Pell City booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Pell City?
The court files of criminal cases in the St. Clair 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 Pell City?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Pell City police for its own arrests, the St. Clair 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 stclairsheriff.org/public-records-request.
Is this the official Pell City 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.