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.
Galesburg, Illinois, in Knox County, has about 29,000 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 Knox 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: Galesburg public records, Knox County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Galesburg
The FBI lists Galesburg with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Galesburg Police Department. It reported 1,452 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 Knox County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 472 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Galesburg 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.
- Galesburg: 1,452 for 2025 and 1,525 for 2024.
Galesburg's 1,452 arrests in 2025 were down 4.8 percent from 1,525 in 2024.
Through September 2026, Galesburg reported 861 arrests, against 1,121 in the same months of 2025.
Across Knox County, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,116 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Galesburg Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Galesburg and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 110 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 128 beds, and it ran at 88 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 Knox County Sheriff's Office at knoxsheriff.org (page title: Knox County Sheriff's Office), phone 888-868-4631, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 Galesburg
For Galesburg the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Knox County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/25/Knox-County-Courthouse/court, phone (309) 345-3847).
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 Galesburg
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 Galesburg police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at ci.galesburg.il.us/government/police/divisions/staff_and_services.php (page title: City of Galesburg, IL), 150 South Broad Street Galesburg, IL 61401, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Knox County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 888-868-4631.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Knox County, through the court records page at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (309) 345-3847.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The Knox County guide covers every agency in the county: Knox County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Galesburg each year?
Galesburg reported 1,452 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Galesburg?
Ask the Knox County Sheriff's Office at 888-868-4631; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at knoxsheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Galesburg booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Knox County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Galesburg?
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 Galesburg?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Galesburg police for its own arrests, the Knox 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 Galesburg 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.