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.
Macon County, Alabama, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Macon County Sheriff's Office, four 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 Macon 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: Macon County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Macon County
The Macon County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Macon County. It reported 132 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:
- Tuskegee, 8,653 residents: 126 arrests reported for 2025.
- Notasulga, 871 residents: 27 arrests reported for 2025.
- Franklin, 568 residents.
- Shorter, 366 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2022.
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 Macon County: Tuskegee University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Macon 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.
- Macon County Sheriff's Office: 132 for 2025, 65 for 2024, 74 for 2023, 60 for 2021 and 122 for 2019; 2020 and 2022 are missing months.
- Tuskegee: 126 for 2025, 340 for 2024, 178 for 2023, 121 for 2022, 160 for 2021 and 316 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Notasulga: 27 for 2025, 8 for 2024, 9 for 2023, 9 for 2022 and 14 for 2021.
- Shorter: 0 for 2022.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 285 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 285 in 2025 against 413 in 2024, down 31 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 200 arrests, against 207 in the same months of 2025.
Franklin and Shorter reported only part of 2025 (11 months and 6 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Macon County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Macon 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 2019 the jail held about 35 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 84 beds, and it ran at 42 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 Macon County Sheriff's Office at sheriff-macon-il.us/corrections (page title: Corrections | Macon County Sheriff), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Macon County
For Macon County the place to look is the case index of the Macon County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at macon.alacourt.gov, phone (334)724-2513).
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 Macon 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 Macon County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Tuskegee, Notasulga, Franklin or Shorter: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Tuskegee University: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Macon County Circuit Court, through the court records page at macon.alacourt.gov, phone (334)724-2513.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Macon County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Macon County: Tuskegee, Notasulga, Franklin and Shorter.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Macon County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Macon County each year?
The Macon County Sheriff's Office reported 132 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 285 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Macon County?
Ask the Macon County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriff-macon-il.us/corrections.
Where are people arrested in Macon County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Macon County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Macon County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Macon 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 Macon County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Macon 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 Macon 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.