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.
Cullman County, Alabama, has about 93,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Cullman County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and one campus agency. 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 Cullman 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: Cullman County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Cullman County
The Cullman County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Cullman County. It reported 1,368 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two 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:
- Cullman, 20,239 residents: 901 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hanceville, 3,346 residents: 115 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.
The Arab Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Cullman County, so its arrests are not broken out for Cullman County here.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Cullman County: Wallace State Community College (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Cullman 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.
- Cullman County Sheriff's Office: 1,368 for 2025, 1,146 for 2024, 1,317 for 2023, 1,599 for 2022, 1,455 for 2021 and 1,441 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Cullman: 901 for 2025, 701 for 2024, 695 for 2023, 637 for 2022, 656 for 2021 and 1,180 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Hanceville: 115 for 2024, 91 for 2023, 138 for 2022, 154 for 2021 and 290 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,269 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,269 in 2025 against 1,847 in 2024, up 23 percent.
Through August 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,245 arrests, against 1,527 in the same months of 2025.
Hanceville reported only part of 2025 (1 month) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Cullman County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Cullman 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 2023 the jail held about 430 people, up from about 300 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 553 beds, and it ran at 77 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 Cullman County
An arrest in Cullman County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Cullman County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at cullman.alacourt.gov, phone (256)775-4654); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at cullmanda.org).
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 Cullman 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 Cullman County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Cullman or Hanceville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Wallace State Community College: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Cullman County Circuit Court, through the court records page at cullman.alacourt.gov, phone (256)775-4654.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Cullman County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the 12 cities in Cullman County: Cullman and Hanceville. Good Hope, Holly Pond, Baileyton, West Point, South Vinemont, Dodge City, Garden City, Fairview, Berlin and Colony 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 Cullman County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Cullman County each year?
The Cullman County Sheriff's Office reported 1,368 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,269 between them.
Where are people arrested in Cullman County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Cullman County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Cullman County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Cullman 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 Cullman County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Cullman 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 Cullman 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.