Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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.
Bradford County, Florida, has about 28,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Bradford County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and six campus, state or other agencies. An arrest 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 Bradford County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Bradford County public records, Florida arrest records, Florida inmate search and Florida criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Bradford County
The Bradford County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Bradford County. It reported 394 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Bradford County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population:
- Starke, 5,966 residents.
- Lawtey, 682 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Bradford County: the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Bradford County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Bradford County, the Bradford County Florida Game Commission, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Bradford and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Bradford County (state police).
How Many Arrests The Bradford County Sheriff's Office Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Bradford County Sheriff's Office: 394 for 2025 and 346 for 2024.
The Bradford County Sheriff's Office's 394 arrests in 2025 were up 14 percent from 346 in 2024.
Through June 2026, Bradford County Sheriff's Office reported 235 arrests, against 197 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Bradford County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Bradford County 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 190 people on an average day, up from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 238 beds, and it ran at 74 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 Bradford County Sheriff's Office at bradfordsheriff.org/department-directory/jail (page title: Jail | Bradford County Sheriff’s Office), phone 904.966.6161, Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, 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 Bradford County
For Bradford County the place to look is the State Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at civitekflorida.com/ocrs/county/04).
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 Bradford County
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 Bradford County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 904.966.6161.
- An arrest in Starke or Lawtey: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Bradford County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Bradford County or the Bradford County Florida Game Commission: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The other Bradford County guides go further: warrants, inmate search, police reports and property records.
Cities in Bradford County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Bradford County: Starke and Lawtey. Hampton and Brooker have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Bradford County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Bradford County each year?
The Bradford County Sheriff's Office reported 394 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Bradford County?
Ask the Bradford County Sheriff's Office at 904.966.6161; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at bradfordsheriff.org/department-directory/jail.
Where are people arrested in Bradford County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Bradford County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Bradford County?
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 Bradford County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Bradford County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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 Bradford County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.