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 25, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Key West, Florida, in Monroe County, has about 25,000 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 Monroe 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: Key West public records, Monroe County arrest records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Key West
The FBI lists Key West with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Key West Police Department. It reported 933 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 Monroe County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 3,367 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Monroe County: the Highway Patrol in Monroe County (state police); the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Monroe, the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Monroe County, the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Monroe County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Monroe County and one more (state agency).
How Many Arrests Key West 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.
- Key West: 933 for 2025, 1,399 for 2024 and 1,402 for 2023.
Key West's 933 arrests in 2025 were down 33 percent from 1,399 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Key West reported 367 arrests, against 673 in the same months of 2025.
Across Monroe County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,300 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Key West Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Key West 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.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 210 people on an average day, down from about 590 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 707 beds, and it ran at 63 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 Monroe County Sheriff's Office at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search (page title: Offender Search | mcso-html), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
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 Key West
For Key West the place to look is the State Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at sao19.org/other-offices, phone (850) 488-3070).
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 Key West
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 Key West police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofkeywest-fl.gov/1071/Police-Department (page title: Police Department | Key West, FL), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State Attorney, (850) 488-3070, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Monroe County guide covers every agency in the county: Monroe County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Key West each year?
Key West reported 933 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Key West?
Ask the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search.
Where are people arrested in Key West booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Key West?
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 Key West?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Key West police for its own arrests, the Monroe 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.
Is this the official Key West 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.