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 October 2, 2026.
Crystal Lake, Illinois, in McHenry County, has about 42,000 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 McHenry 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: Crystal Lake public records, McHenry County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Crystal Lake
The FBI lists Crystal Lake with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Crystal Lake Police Department. It reported 818 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 McHenry County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 820 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in McHenry County: McHenry County College (campus police); the McHenry County Conservation District and the Crystal Lake Park District (other).
How Many Arrests Crystal Lake 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.
- Crystal Lake: 818 for 2025, 920 for 2024 and 692 for 2023.
Crystal Lake's 818 arrests in 2025 were down 11 percent from 920 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Crystal Lake reported 583 arrests, against 548 in the same months of 2025.
Across McHenry County, the 21 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,544 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Crystal Lake Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Crystal Lake 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 380 people, down from about 460 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 650 beds, and it ran at 29 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 McHenry County Sheriff's Office at mchenrysheriff.org (page title: McHenry County IL Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Crystal Lake
For Crystal Lake the place to look is the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at mchenrycountyil.gov/departments/state-s-attorney-s-office, phone (815) 334-4159).
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 Crystal Lake
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 Crystal Lake police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at crystallake.org/your-government/departments/police/administrative-d... (page title: Records Unit | Crystal Lake, IL), phone (815) 356-3774, Friday (excluding City recognized holidays) 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the McHenry County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (815) 334-4159, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The McHenry County guide covers every agency in the county: McHenry County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Crystal Lake each year?
Crystal Lake reported 818 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Crystal Lake?
Ask the McHenry County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mchenrysheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Crystal Lake booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McHenry County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Crystal Lake?
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 Crystal Lake?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Crystal Lake police for its own arrests, the McHenry 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 Crystal Lake 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.