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 October 4, 2026.
Palatka, Florida, in Putnam County, has about 11,000 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 Putnam 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: Palatka public records, Putnam County arrest records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Palatka
The FBI lists Palatka with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Palatka Police Department. It reported 473 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 Putnam County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,018 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Putnam County: the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Putnam County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Putnam County, the Putnam County Florida Game Commission, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Putnam and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Putnam County (state police); the Putnam County School District (other).
How Many Arrests Palatka 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.
- Palatka: 473 for 2025, 450 for 2024, 470 for 2023 and 423 for 2022.
Palatka's 473 arrests in 2025 were up 5.1 percent from 450 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Palatka reported 348 arrests, against 310 in the same months of 2025.
Across Putnam County, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,694 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Palatka Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Palatka 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 400 people on an average day, up from about 340 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 422 beds, and it ran at 86 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 Putnam County Sheriff's Office at smartweb.pcso.us/smartwebclient/jail.aspx (page title: JAIL View), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Palatka
Whether someone was arrested in Palatka, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the custody page of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Putnam County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at putnamclerk.com).
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 Palatka
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 Palatka police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at palatka-fl.gov/281/Records (page title: Records | Palatka, FL), phone 386-329-0115, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Putnam County Circuit Court, through the court records page at putnamclerk.com.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at voteputnamflorida.gov (page title: Putnam County, Florida | Supervisor of Elections).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Putnam County guide covers every agency in the county: Putnam County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Palatka each year?
Palatka reported 473 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Palatka?
Look on the custody page of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at smartweb.pcso.us/smartwebclient/jail.aspx. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Palatka booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Palatka?
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 Palatka?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Palatka police for its own arrests, the Putnam 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 voteputnamflorida.gov.
Is this the official Palatka 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.