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.
Cleburne County, Alabama, has about 16,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Cleburne 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 Cleburne 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: Cleburne County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Cleburne County
The Cleburne County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Cleburne County. It reported 105 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Cleburne County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Heflin, 3,557 residents: 46 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ranburne, 436 residents: 9 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 Cleburne 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.
- Cleburne County Sheriff's Office: 105 for 2025, 129 for 2024, 129 for 2023 and 567 for 2019; 2020, 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Heflin: 46 for 2025, 49 for 2024, 118 for 2023, 62 for 2022 and 54 for 2021.
- Ranburne: 9 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 11 for 2023, 11 for 2022 and 47 for 2021.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 160 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 160 in 2025 against 178 in 2024, down 10 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 90 arrests, against 111 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Cleburne County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cleburne 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 53 people, down from about 71 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 90 beds, and it ran at 79 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 Cleburne County Sheriff's Office at cleburnecountyso.org/cur_inmates.html (page title: Redirecting…), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Cleburne County
For Cleburne County the place to look is the case index of the Cleburne County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at cleburne.alacourt.gov, phone (256) 463-2651).
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 Cleburne 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 Cleburne County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Heflin or Ranburne: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Cleburne County Circuit Court, through the court records page at cleburne.alacourt.gov, phone (256) 463-2651.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Cleburne County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Cleburne County: Heflin and Ranburne. Fruithurst and Edwardsville 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 Cleburne County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Cleburne County each year?
The Cleburne County Sheriff's Office reported 105 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 160 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Cleburne County?
Ask the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at cleburnecountyso.org/cur_inmates.html.
Where are people arrested in Cleburne County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Cleburne County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Cleburne 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 Cleburne County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Cleburne 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 Cleburne 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.