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 9, 2026.
Panama City, Florida, in Bay County, has about 37,000 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 Bay 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: Panama City public records, Bay County arrest records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Panama City
The FBI lists Panama City with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Panama City Police Department. It reported 5,444 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 Bay County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 3,365 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Bay County: Florida State University at Panama City (campus police); Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport and Bay County District Schools (other); the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Bay County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Bay County, the Bay County Florida Game Commission, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Bay and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Bay County (state police).
How Many Arrests Panama City 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.
- Panama City: 5,444 for 2025.
Through August 2026, Panama City reported 3,507 arrests, against 3,424 in the same months of 2025.
Across Bay County, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 9,959 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Panama City Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Panama City 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 1,070 people on an average day, down from about 1,150 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,170 beds, and it ran at 106 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 Bay County Sheriff's Office at bayso.org/faqs (page title: Bay County Jail Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Bay County Sheriff's Office), phone (850) 747-4700, 3421 N Highway 77 Panama City, FL 32405, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
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 Panama City
Whether someone was arrested in Panama City, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Bay County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at baycoclerk.com/public-records/search-court-cases-court-docket, phone (850) 521-3501); the State Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jud14.flcourts.org/state-attorney).
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 Panama City
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 Panama City police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at panamacitypolice.gov (page title: Panama City Police Department | Enhance Community Safety Today), phone (850) 872-3198, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Bay County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (850) 747-4700.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Bay County Circuit Court, through the court records page at baycoclerk.com, phone (850) 521-3501.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Bay County guide covers every agency in the county: Bay County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Panama City each year?
Panama City reported 5,444 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Panama City?
Ask the Bay County Sheriff's Office at (850) 747-4700; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at bayso.org/faqs.
Where are people arrested in Panama City booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Bay County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Panama City?
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 Panama City?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Panama City police for its own arrests, the Bay 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 Panama City 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.