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 September 30, 2026.
Carbondale, Illinois, in Jackson County, has about 22,000 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's Attorney files charges, a case in the Circuit Court of Jackson County. 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: Carbondale public records, Jackson County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Carbondale
The FBI lists Carbondale with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Carbondale Police Department. It reported 1,026 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 99 arrests for 2024.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Jackson County: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (campus police).
How Many Arrests Carbondale 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.
- Carbondale: 1,026 for 2025, 977 for 2024, 868 for 2023 and 753 for 2022.
Carbondale's 1,026 arrests in 2025 were up 5 percent from 977 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Carbondale reported 663 arrests, against 656 in the same months of 2025.
Across Jackson County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,389 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Carbondale Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Carbondale 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.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 140 people, up from about 100 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 199 beds, and it ran at 70 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Jackson County Sheriff's Office), phone 877-654-8463, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Illinois Department of Corrections lists its inmates at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Carbondale
An arrest in Carbondale can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Circuit Court of Jackson County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at jacksoncounty-il.gov/313/Courts, phone 618-687-7330); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jacksoncountystatesattorney.com).
Illinois is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: conviction information is public under the Uniform Conviction Information Act, through the Illinois State Police. 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 Carbondale
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 Illinois Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension, and it may charge copying only after the first 50 pages.
- An arrest by the agency that reports for Carbondale: its own records unit.
- An arrest by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 877-654-8463.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Jackson County, through the court records page at jacksoncounty-il.gov/313/Courts, phone 618-687-7330.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jacksoncounty-il.gov (page title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Information | Jackson County, IL).
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The Jackson County guide covers every agency in the county: Jackson County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Carbondale each year?
Carbondale reported 1,026 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Carbondale?
Look on the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search, or call 877-654-8463. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Carbondale booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Carbondale?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Illinois State Police: conviction information is public under the Uniform Conviction Information Act. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Carbondale?
From the agency that made the arrest: the agency that reports for Carbondale for its own arrests, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jacksoncounty-il.gov.
Is this the official Carbondale 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.