Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 23, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
DeFuniak Springs, Florida, in Walton County, has about 7,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the State Attorney files charges, a case in the Walton County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: DeFuniak Springs public records, Walton County arrest records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in DeFuniak Springs
The FBI lists DeFuniak Springs with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as DeFuniak Springs Police Department. It reported 225 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Walton County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 2,002 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Walton County: the Walton County Florida Game Commission, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Walton County, the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Walton County, the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Walton County and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Walton County (state police).
How Many Arrests DeFuniak Springs Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- DeFuniak Springs: 225 for 2025 and 487 for 2024.
DeFuniak Springs's 225 arrests in 2025 were down 54 percent from 487 in 2024.
Through September 2026, DeFuniak Springs reported 176 arrests, against 169 in the same months of 2025.
Across Walton County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,227 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in DeFuniak Springs Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in DeFuniak Springs and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 320 people on an average day, up from about 250 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 600 beds, and it ran at 45 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 Walton County Sheriff's Office at nwscorrections.waltonso.org/NewWorld.InMateInquiry/WaltonCounty (page title: Inmate Search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Florida Department of Corrections lists its inmates at fdc.myflorida.com.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in DeFuniak Springs
An arrest in DeFuniak Springs can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Walton County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Walton County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at waltonclerkfl.gov/courtrecords).
Florida is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24 a search, through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in DeFuniak Springs
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the agency must answer promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the copy fees set by statute, plus a special service charge for large requests.
- An arrest by the DeFuniak Springs police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at defuniaksprings.net/1179/Public-Records-Request (page title: Public records Request | DeFuniak Springs, FL), phone 850-892-8513, 99 S. 18th Street DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Walton County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Walton County Circuit Court, through the court records page at waltonclerkfl.gov/courtrecords.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at waltonclerkfl.gov/courtrecordsrequest (page title: Court Records Request | Walton County Clerk of Courts & Comptroller).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Walton County guide covers every agency in the county: Walton County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in DeFuniak Springs each year?
DeFuniak Springs reported 225 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in DeFuniak Springs?
Look on the custody page of the Walton County Sheriff's Office at nwscorrections.waltonso.org. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in DeFuniak Springs booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Walton County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in DeFuniak Springs?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in DeFuniak Springs?
From the agency that made the arrest: the DeFuniak Springs police for its own arrests, the Walton County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the answer is due promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at waltonclerkfl.gov/courtrecordsrequest.
Is this the official DeFuniak Springs website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.