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 October 4, 2026.
Choctaw County, Alabama, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Choctaw 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 Choctaw 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: Choctaw County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Choctaw County
The Choctaw County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Choctaw County. It reported 52 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Choctaw County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Butler, 1,726 residents: 84 arrests reported for 2025.
- Gilbertown, 702 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2024.
- Pennington, 326 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2022.
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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Choctaw 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.
- Butler: 84 for 2025, 75 for 2024, 107 for 2023, 205 for 2022, 167 for 2021 and 63 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Choctaw County Sheriff's Office: 52 for 2025, 112 for 2024, 98 for 2023, 49 for 2022 and 27 for 2021.
- Gilbertown: 7 for 2024, 5 for 2022 and 7 for 2021; 2023 is missing months.
- Pennington: 0 for 2022.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 136 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 136 in 2025 against 187 in 2024, down 27 percent.
Through August 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 82 arrests, against 88 in the same months of 2025.
Gilbertown reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Choctaw County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Choctaw 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 2021 the jail held about 24 people, down from about 26 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Choctaw County Sheriff's Office at choctawcountyal.org/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Choctaw County, Alabama), phone (205) 459-2166, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Choctaw County
An arrest in Choctaw County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Choctaw County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at choctaw.alacourt.gov, phone (205) 459-2155); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at choctawcountyal.org/district-attorney, phone (251) 275-3144).
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 Choctaw 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 Choctaw County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (205) 459-2166.
- An arrest in Butler, Gilbertown or Pennington: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (251) 275-3144, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Choctaw County Circuit Court, through the court records page at choctaw.alacourt.gov, phone (205) 459-2155.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Choctaw County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the seven cities in Choctaw County: Butler, Gilbertown and Pennington. Lisman, Silas, Toxey and Needham 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 Choctaw County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Choctaw County each year?
Butler reported 84 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 136 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Choctaw County?
Ask the Choctaw County Sheriff's Office at (205) 459-2166; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at choctawcountyal.org/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Choctaw County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Choctaw County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Choctaw County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Choctaw 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 Choctaw County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Choctaw 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 Choctaw 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.