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.
Hillsborough County, Florida, has about 1.6 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and ten 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 Hillsborough 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: Hillsborough County public records, Florida arrest records, Florida inmate search and Florida criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Hillsborough County
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Hillsborough County. It reported 25,575 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Tampa, 414,547 residents: 14,285 arrests reported for 2025.
- Plant City, 43,046 residents.
- Temple Terrace, 27,588 residents: 521 arrests reported for 2025.
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 Hillsborough County: the University of South Florida at Tampa (campus police); Tampa International Airport (other); the Department of Law Enforcement at Hillsborough County, Tampa, the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Hillsborough County, the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Hillsborough County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Hillsborough County and three more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Hillsborough County (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Hillsborough County
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.
- Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office: 25,575 for 2025, 24,914 for 2024, 24,610 for 2023, 21,300 for 2022 and 17,650 for 2021.
- Tampa: 14,285 for 2025, 16,506 for 2024, 15,194 for 2023 and 13,977 for 2022.
- Temple Terrace: 521 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 40,381 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 39,860 in 2025 against 41,420 in 2024, down 3.8 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 23,598 arrests, against 23,159 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hillsborough County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hillsborough 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 3,600 people on an average day, up from about 3,070 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 4,783 beds, and it ran at 66 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 Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at webapps.hcso.tampa.fl.us/arrestinquiry (page title: HCSO Arrest Inquiry), phone (850) 410-8109, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Hillsborough County
For Hillsborough County the place to look is the State Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at hillsboroughsao.gov/about/the-office).
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 Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (850) 410-8109.
- An arrest in Tampa, Plant City or Temple Terrace: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by the University of South Florida at Tampa, Tampa International Airport or the Department of Law Enforcement at Hillsborough County, Tampa: 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.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at hcfl.gov (page title: Public Records Request | Hillsborough County, FL).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The other Hillsborough County guides go further: warrants, inmate search, police reports and property records.
Cities in Hillsborough County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the three cities in Hillsborough County: Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Hillsborough County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Hillsborough County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Tampa (414,547)
- Plant City (43,046)
- Temple Terrace (27,588)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Hillsborough County each year?
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported 25,575 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 40,381 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Hillsborough County?
Ask the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (850) 410-8109; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at webapps.hcso.tampa.fl.us/arrestinquiry.
Where are people arrested in Hillsborough County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hillsborough 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at hcfl.gov.
Is this the official Hillsborough 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.