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 on September 24, 2026.
Cherokee County, Alabama, has about 26,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and three city agencies. An arrest 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 Cherokee County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Cherokee County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Cherokee County
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Cherokee County. It reported 1,001 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Cherokee County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Centre, 3,845 residents: 265 arrests reported for 2025.
- Cedar Bluff, 1,932 residents: 161 arrests reported for 2024.
- Leesburg, 1,006 residents: 96 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The Collinsville Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Cherokee County, so its arrests are not broken out for Cherokee County here.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Cherokee County
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.
- Cherokee County Sheriff's Office: 1,001 for 2025, 1,148 for 2024, 1,025 for 2023, 993 for 2022, 725 for 2020 and 1,270 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Centre: 265 for 2025, 299 for 2024, 333 for 2023, 428 for 2022, 334 for 2021 and 219 for 2020.
- Leesburg: 96 for 2025, 64 for 2024, 113 for 2023, 104 for 2022, 122 for 2021 and 242 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Cedar Bluff: 161 for 2024, 183 for 2023, 236 for 2022, 132 for 2021 and 58 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,362 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,362 in 2025 against 1,511 in 2024, down 9.9 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 813 arrests, against 956 in the same months of 2025.
Cedar Bluff reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Cherokee County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cherokee County 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 130 people, up from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 140 beds, and it ran at 96 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Cherokee County
For Cherokee County the place to look is the case index of the Cherokee County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at cherokee.alacourt.gov, phone (256) 927-3637).
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 Cherokee County
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 Cherokee County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Centre, Cedar Bluff or Leesburg: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Cherokee County Circuit Court, through the court records page at cherokee.alacourt.gov, phone (256) 927-3637.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Cherokee County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the five cities in Cherokee County: Centre, Cedar Bluff and Leesburg. Sand Rock and Gaylesville have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Cherokee County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Cherokee County each year?
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reported 1,001 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,362 between them.
Where are people arrested in Cherokee County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Cherokee County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Cherokee 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 Cherokee County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Alabama Public Records Law the answer is due within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline.
Is this the official Cherokee County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.