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.
Marion County, Alabama, has about 29,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Marion County Sheriff's Office, six city agencies and two other 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 Marion 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: Marion County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Marion County
The Marion County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Marion County. It reported 42 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists six cities in Marion County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Hamilton, 6,944 residents: 351 arrests reported for 2025.
- Winfield, 4,862 residents: 180 arrests reported for 2025.
- Guin, 2,137 residents: 136 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hackleburg, 1,448 residents: 49 arrests reported for 2024.
- Bear Creek, 1,052 residents: 61 arrests reported for 2025.
- Brilliant, 839 residents: 8 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 Haleyville Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Marion County, so its arrests are not broken out for Marion County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Marion County: District Attorney at 25th Circuit and Marion County Drug Task Force (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Marion 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.
- Hamilton: 351 for 2025, 444 for 2024 and 401 for 2019; 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Winfield: 180 for 2025, 139 for 2024, 173 for 2023, 223 for 2022, 336 for 2021 and 447 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Guin: 136 for 2025, 110 for 2024, 62 for 2023, 72 for 2021 and 129 for 2019; 2020 and 2022 are missing months.
- Bear Creek: 61 for 2025, 35 for 2024, 24 for 2023, 28 for 2022 and 27 for 2021.
- Marion County Sheriff's Office: 42 for 2025, 64 for 2024, 42 for 2023, 37 for 2022, 44 for 2021 and 160 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Hackleburg: 49 for 2024, 26 for 2022 and 26 for 2021; 2023 is missing months.
- Brilliant: 8 for 2024, 14 for 2023 and 20 for 2021; 2022 is missing months.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 770 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 770 in 2025 against 792 in 2024, down 2.8 percent.
Through August 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 417 arrests, against 517 in the same months of 2025.
Hackleburg and Brilliant reported only part of 2025 (11 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Marion County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Marion 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 170 people, up from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 152 beds, and it ran at 86 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 Marion County
For Marion County the place to look is the case index of the Marion County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at marion.alacourt.gov/public-search-records-and-copies).
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 Marion 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 Marion County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Hamilton, Winfield, Guin, Hackleburg, Bear Creek or Brilliant: 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 District Attorney at 25th Circuit or Marion County Drug Task Force: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Marion County Circuit Court, through the court records page at marion.alacourt.gov.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Marion County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the eight cities in Marion County: Hamilton, Winfield, Guin, Hackleburg, Bear Creek and Brilliant. Twin and Gu-Win 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 Marion County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Marion County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Hamilton (6,944)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Marion County each year?
Hamilton reported 351 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 770 between them.
Where are people arrested in Marion County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Marion County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Marion County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Marion 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 Marion County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Marion 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 Marion 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.