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.
Randolph County, Alabama, has about 23,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and two campus, state or 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 Randolph 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: Randolph County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Randolph County
The Randolph County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Randolph County. It reported 50 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Randolph County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Roanoke, 5,424 residents: 591 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wadley, 848 residents: 4 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wedowee, 751 residents: 131 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 these agencies in Randolph County: Southern Union State Community College (campus police); 5th Judicial Circuit Narcotics Unit (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Randolph 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.
- Roanoke: 591 for 2025, 672 for 2024, 559 for 2023 and 300 for 2019; 2020, 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Wedowee: 131 for 2025, 82 for 2024, 115 for 2023, 87 for 2022 and 60 for 2021.
- Randolph County Sheriff's Office: 50 for 2025, 50 for 2024, 88 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 3 for 2021 and 453 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Wadley: 4 for 2025, 8 for 2023 and 28 for 2021; 2022 and 2024 are missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 776 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 772 in 2025 against 804 in 2024, down 4 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 402 arrests, against 543 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Randolph County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Randolph 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 73 people, down from about 80 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 155 beds, and it ran at 52 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 Randolph County Sheriff's Office at randolphcountyal.gov/sheriffs-office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Randolph County Alabama), phone 256-357-4545, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Randolph County
For Randolph County the place to look is the case index of the Randolph County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at randolph.alacourt.gov, phone (256) 357-4551).
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 Randolph 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 Randolph County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 256-357-4545.
- An arrest in Roanoke, Wadley or Wedowee: 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 Southern Union State Community College or 5th Judicial Circuit Narcotics Unit: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Randolph County Circuit Court, through the court records page at randolph.alacourt.gov, phone (256) 357-4551.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at randolphcountyal.gov/open-records-requests (page title: Open Records Requests | Randolph County Alabama).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Randolph County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the four cities in Randolph County: Roanoke, Wadley and Wedowee. Woodland has 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 Randolph County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Randolph County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Roanoke (5,424)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Randolph County each year?
Roanoke reported 591 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 776 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Randolph County?
Ask the Randolph County Sheriff's Office at 256-357-4545; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at randolphcountyal.gov/sheriffs-office.
Where are people arrested in Randolph County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Randolph County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Randolph 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 Randolph County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Randolph 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at randolphcountyal.gov/open-records-requests.
Is this the official Randolph 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.