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 2020. 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.
Columbia, Illinois, in Monroe County, has about 11,000 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 Monroe 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: Columbia public records, Monroe County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Columbia
The FBI lists Columbia with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Columbia Police Department. It reported 0 arrests for 2020, its latest complete year. 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 Monroe County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 164 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Columbia 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.
- Columbia: 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019.
Across Monroe County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 117 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Columbia Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Columbia 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 2024 the jail held about 11 people, down from about 35 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 42 beds, and it ran at 83 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 Monroe County Sheriff's Office at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search (page title: Offender Search | mcso-html), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Columbia
For Columbia the place to look is the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at monroecountyil.gov/departments/states-attorney, phone 618-939-8681).
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 Columbia
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Columbia police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at columbiail.gov/653/FOIA-Request (page title: FOIA Request | Columbia, IL), 1020 North Main Street Columbia, IL 62236, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, 618-939-8681, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The Monroe County guide covers every agency in the county: Monroe County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Columbia each year?
Columbia reported 0 arrests to the FBI for 2020, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Columbia?
Ask the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search.
Where are people arrested in Columbia booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Columbia?
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 Columbia?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Columbia police for its own arrests, the Monroe 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.
Is this the official Columbia 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.