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.
Clarke County, Alabama, has about 22,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Clarke County Sheriff's Office and four 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 Clarke 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: Clarke County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Clarke County
The Clarke County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Clarke County. It reported 192 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Jackson, 4,477 residents: 321 arrests reported for 2025.
- Thomasville, 3,540 residents: 151 arrests reported for 2025.
- Grove Hill, 1,723 residents: 101 arrests reported for 2024.
- Coffeeville, 248 residents: 1 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Clarke 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.
- Jackson: 321 for 2025, 287 for 2024, 329 for 2023, 337 for 2022, 249 for 2021 and 310 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Clarke County Sheriff's Office: 192 for 2025, 309 for 2024, 451 for 2023, 234 for 2022, 118 for 2021 and 56 for 2020.
- Thomasville: 151 for 2025, 222 for 2024, 308 for 2023, 202 for 2022, 329 for 2021 and 277 for 2020.
- Grove Hill: 101 for 2024, 103 for 2023 and 44 for 2021; 2022 is missing months.
- Coffeeville: 1 for 2024 and 3 for 2022; 2023 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 664 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 664 in 2025 against 818 in 2024, down 19 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 369 arrests, against 446 in the same months of 2025.
Coffeeville and Grove Hill reported only part of 2025 (7 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Clarke County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clarke 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 120 people, up from about 93 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 120 beds, and it ran at 96 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Clarke County Sheriff's Office at clarkecountyal.com/sheriffs-department (page title: Sheriff’s Department | Clarke County), phone (251) 275-4254, 114 Court Street P O Box 913 Grove Hill, AL 36451, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Clarke County
For Clarke County the place to look is the case index of the Clarke County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at clarke.alacourt.gov, phone (251) 275-3163).
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 Clarke 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 Clarke County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (251) 275-4254.
- An arrest in Jackson, Thomasville, Grove Hill or Coffeeville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Clarke County Circuit Court, through the court records page at clarke.alacourt.gov, phone (251) 275-3163.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Clarke County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the five cities in Clarke County: Jackson, Thomasville, Grove Hill and Coffeeville. Fulton has 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 Clarke County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Clarke County each year?
Jackson reported 321 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 664 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Clarke County?
Ask the Clarke County Sheriff's Office at (251) 275-4254; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clarkecountyal.com/sheriffs-department.
Where are people arrested in Clarke County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Clarke County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Clarke County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Clarke 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 Clarke County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Clarke 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 Clarke 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.