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.
Clay County, Alabama, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Clay County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Clay 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: Clay County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Clay County
The Clay County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Clay County. It reported 39 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Clay County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Lineville, 2,486 residents: 114 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ashland, 1,945 residents: 40 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Clay County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Lineville: 114 for 2025, 147 for 2024, 194 for 2023, 112 for 2022 and 54 for 2021.
- Ashland: 40 for 2025, 28 for 2024, 55 for 2023, 5 for 2022, 25 for 2021 and 201 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Clay County Sheriff's Office: 39 for 2025, 27 for 2024, 53 for 2023, 5 for 2022, 3 for 2021 and 159 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 193 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 193 in 2025 against 202 in 2024, down 4.5 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 181 arrests, against 133 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Clay County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Clay County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 51 people, down from about 76 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 150 beds, and it ran at 51 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 Clay County Sheriff's Office at claycountysheriff.org/cur_inmates_sorted.html (page title: Clay County Jail | Inmates), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Clay County
For Clay County the place to look is the case index of the Clay County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at clay.alacourt.gov, phone 256-354-7926).
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 Clay County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 Clay County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Lineville or Ashland: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Clay County Circuit Court, through the court records page at clay.alacourt.gov, phone 256-354-7926.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Clay County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Clay County: Lineville and Ashland.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Clay County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Clay County each year?
Lineville reported 114 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 193 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Clay County?
Ask the Clay County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at claycountysheriff.org/cur_inmates_sorted.html.
Where are people arrested in Clay County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Clay County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Clay County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Clay 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 Clay County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Clay 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 Clay 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.