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 between September 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Shelby County, Alabama, has about 236,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Shelby County depends on where the incident happened: the Shelby 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: Shelby County public records, Shelby County arrest records, Shelby County warrants, Shelby County inmate search, Shelby County criminal records, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Shelby County
A crime, incident or collision report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court, the jail or the prosecutor.
In Shelby County that is the Shelby 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 list also carries the University of Montevallo (campus police), with a records office of its own.
The Vestavia Hills Police Department, the Hoover Police Department, the Birmingham Police Department and one more are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Shelby County, so their arrests are not broken out for Shelby County here.
Reports from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 112 violent and 363 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 1,972 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at inmatelisting.shelbyal.com (page title: Shelby County Sheriff's Office | Inmate Listing), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Shelby County
The seven cities the FBI lists in Shelby County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Alabaster: 33 violent and 334 property crimes reported for 2025; 822 arrests reported for 2025. The Alabaster police records page is at cityofalabaster.com/488/Police-Reports, phone (205) 664-7401 (verified September 26, 2026).
- Pelham: 40 violent and 211 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,016 arrests reported for 2025.
- Helena: 17 violent and 88 property crimes reported for 2025; 335 arrests reported for 2025.
- Calera: 50 violent and 241 property crimes reported for 2025; 510 arrests reported for 2025.
- Montevallo: 9 violent and 51 property crimes reported for 2025; 467 arrests reported for 2025.
- Columbiana: 185 arrests reported for 2025.
- Harpersville: 2 violent and 17 property crimes reported for 2025; 219 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: Shelby County in 2025
The seven agencies in Shelby County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 263 violent and 1,305 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the eight agencies in Shelby County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,526 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Alabama Public Records Law Requires
The Alabama Public Records Law sets the rules: an answer within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline, at a charge of a reasonable fee for copies, from the agency that holds the report.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at shelbyal.com/501/Freedom-of-Information-Act (page title: Public Records Requests | Shelby County, AL).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Shelby County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. Under the Alabama Public Records Law the answer is due within a reasonable time; the statute sets no fixed deadline.
Is this the official Shelby 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.