Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Madison County, Alabama, has about 423,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Madison County depends on where the incident happened: the Madison County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Alabama Public Records Law requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Madison County public records, Madison County arrest records, Madison County warrants, Madison County inmate search, Madison County criminal records, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Madison County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In Madison County that is the Madison County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
The FBI's agency list also places one other agency and four campus police departments in Madison County, each with a records office of its own.
Reports from the Madison County Sheriff's Office
The Madison County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 258 violent and 1,179 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 3,545 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit, reached through the office at 256.722.7181. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at madisoncountysheriffal.org/inmate-roster (page title: Inmate Roster | Madison County Sheriff's Office | Sort Booking Time | Descending | Page 1), phone 256.722.7181, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Madison County
The six cities the FBI lists in Madison County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Huntsville: 934 violent and 5,376 property crimes reported for 2025; 5,897 arrests reported for 2025. The Huntsville police records page is at huntsvilleal.gov/residents/public-safety/huntsville-police/records/..., phone 256-427-7020 (verified September 26, 2026).
- Madison: 100 violent and 631 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,620 arrests reported for 2025.
- Triana: 5 arrests reported for 2024.
- Owens Cross Roads: 4 violent and 22 property crimes reported for 2025; 68 arrests reported for 2025.
- New Hope: 39 arrests reported for 2024.
- Gurley: 4 violent and 20 property crimes reported for 2025; 48 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 Reports: Madison County in 2025
The five agencies in Madison County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,300 violent and 7,228 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the five agencies in Madison County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 11,178 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Alabama Public Records Law Requires
Under the Alabama Public Records Law the agency must answer a request within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline, and it may charge a reasonable fee for copies. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at madison.alacourt.gov/records-request (page title: Madison County | Twenty-Third Circuit Court of Alabama).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Madison County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Madison 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.
How long does an agency in Madison County have to answer?
Under the Alabama Public Records Law, within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline. It may charge a reasonable fee for copies.
How do I get a report from the Madison County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit, reached through the office at 256.722.7181. Under the Alabama Public Records Law the answer is due within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline.
Is this the official Madison 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.