Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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 27, 2026.
Palmetto, Florida, in Manatee County, has about 14,000 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 Manatee County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Palmetto public records, Manatee County arrest records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Palmetto
The FBI lists Palmetto with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Palmetto Police Department. 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 Manatee County Sheriff's Office is the county agency.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Manatee County: the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Manatee County, the Manatee County Florida Game Commission, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Manatee County, the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Manatee County and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Manatee County (state police).
Arrest Counts on File for Palmetto
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Palmetto the counts on file are partial: Palmetto has sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Palmetto Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Palmetto 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 1,200 people on an average day, up from about 980 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,468 beds, and it ran at 72 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 Manatee County Sheriff's Office at townofgreenwood.org/pt1_type/manatee-county-jail (page title: Manatee County Jail Inmate Search, Visitation, Mugshots | Records Search), phone 941-747-3011, 600 Highway 301 Boulevard West Bradenton, FL 34205, Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 27, 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 person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Florida Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at fdc.myflorida.com.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Palmetto
An arrest in Palmetto can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Manatee County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at records.manateeclerk.com/CourtRecords/Search).
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 Palmetto
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 Palmetto police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at palmettobay-fl.gov/884/Police-Reports-Services (page title: Police Reports and Other Service Requests | Palmetto Bay, FL), phone 305-278-4000, 9705 E Hibiscus Street Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 941-747-3011.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Manatee County Circuit Court, through the court records page at records.manateeclerk.com/CourtRecords/Search.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Manatee County guide covers every agency in the county: Manatee County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Palmetto?
Look on the custody page of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at townofgreenwood.org, or call 941-747-3011. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Palmetto booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Palmetto?
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 Palmetto?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Palmetto police for its own arrests, the Manatee 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 Palmetto 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.