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 28, 2026.
Lafayette County, Florida, has about 8,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office 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 Lafayette 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, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Lafayette County public records, Florida arrest records, Florida inmate search and Florida criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Lafayette County
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Lafayette County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Lafayette County: the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Lafayette County, the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Lafayette County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Lafayette County, the Lafayette County Florida Game Commission and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Lafayette County (state police).
Arrest Counts on File for Lafayette County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Lafayette County the counts on file are partial: Lafayette County Sheriff's Office has sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Lafayette County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lafayette 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 12 people on an average day, down from about 38 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office at lcsheriff.com (page title: Lafayette County Sheriff Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 Lafayette County
An arrest in Lafayette County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Lafayette County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at lafayetteclerk.com/departments-services/records-search); the State Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at sao3.org/locations, phone (386) 758-0470).
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 Lafayette County
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 Lafayette County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest by the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Lafayette County, the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Lafayette County or the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Lafayette County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State Attorney, (386) 758-0470, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Lafayette County Circuit Court, through the court records page at lafayetteclerk.com.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Lafayette County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Lafayette County with an arrest reporting agency of its own.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Lafayette County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Lafayette County?
Ask the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lcsheriff.com.
Where are people arrested in Lafayette County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Lafayette 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 Lafayette County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Lafayette 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 Lafayette 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.