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 September 30, 2026.
Dallas County, Alabama, has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Dallas 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: Dallas County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Dallas County
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Dallas County. It reported 161 arrests for 2025.
One city in Dallas County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Selma, 16,312 residents: 132 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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Dallas County: Wallace Community College at Selma (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Dallas 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.
- Dallas County Sheriff's Office: 161 for 2025, 130 for 2024, 130 for 2023, 204 for 2022, 365 for 2021 and 471 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Selma: 132 for 2025, 168 for 2024, 152 for 2023 and 184 for 2022.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 293 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 293 in 2025 against 298 in 2024, down 1.7 percent.
Through August 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 118 arrests, against 214 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Dallas County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dallas 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 2019 the jail held about 140 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 137 beds, and it ran at 104 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 Dallas County Sheriff's Office at dallascounty-al.org/County-Departments/Sheriffs-Department (page title: Sheriff's Department | County of Dallas, AL), phone (334) 874-2530, 102 Church Street Selma, AL 36702, Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Dallas County
For Dallas County the place to look is the case index of the Dallas County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at dallas.alacourt.gov, phone (334) 874-2523).
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 Dallas 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 Dallas County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (334) 874-2530.
- An arrest in Selma: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Wallace Community College at Selma: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Dallas County Circuit Court, through the court records page at dallas.alacourt.gov, phone (334) 874-2523.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Dallas County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the three cities in Dallas County: Selma. Valley Grande and Orrville 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 Dallas County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Dallas County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Selma (16,312)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Dallas County each year?
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office reported 161 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 293 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Dallas County?
Ask the Dallas County Sheriff's Office at (334) 874-2530; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at dallascounty-al.org.
Where are people arrested in Dallas County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Dallas County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Dallas 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 Dallas County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Dallas 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 Dallas 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.