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.
Russell County, Alabama, has about 59,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Russell 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 Russell 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: Russell County public records, Alabama arrest records, Alabama inmate search and Alabama criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Russell County
The Russell County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Russell County. It reported 825 arrests for 2025.
One city in Russell County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Phenix City, 38,509 residents: 1,077 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 Russell County: Chattahoochee Valley Community College (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Russell 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.
- Phenix City: 1,077 for 2025, 987 for 2024, 1,171 for 2023, 1,181 for 2022, 926 for 2021 and 637 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Russell County Sheriff's Office: 825 for 2025, 1,013 for 2024, 1,433 for 2023, 1,061 for 2022 and 678 for 2019; 2020 and 2021 are missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,902 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,902 in 2025 against 2,000 in 2024, down 4.9 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,224 arrests, against 1,202 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Russell County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Russell 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 280 people, up from about 260 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2020, the last year with a capacity figure, was 455 beds, and it ran at 56 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Russell County Sheriff's Office at rcso.org/inCustodySearchFeed/95993e28b03bc264981509975a6e7269 (page title: Russell County Sheriff’s Office AL), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Russell County
An arrest in Russell County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Russell County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Russell County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at russell.alacourt.gov/record-request-and-copies); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at russellcountyal.gov/services/county_attorney.php, phone 334-298-7963).
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 Russell 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 Russell County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Phenix City: 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 Chattahoochee Valley Community College: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 334-298-7963, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Russell County Circuit Court, through the court records page at russell.alacourt.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at russell.alacourt.gov (page title: Russell County | Twenty-Sixth Circuit Court of Alabama).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to ALEA.
Cities in Russell County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in Russell County: Phenix City. Hurtsboro 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 Russell County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Russell County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Phenix City (38,509)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Russell County each year?
Phenix City reported 1,077 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,902 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Russell County?
Look on the custody page of the Russell County Sheriff's Office at rcso.org. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Russell County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Russell County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Russell County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Russell 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 Russell County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Russell 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 russell.alacourt.gov.
Is this the official Russell 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.