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.
Geneseo, Illinois, in Henry County, has about 6,500 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 Henry 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: Geneseo public records, Henry County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Geneseo
The FBI lists Geneseo with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Geneseo Police Department. It reported 71 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 Henry County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 338 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Henry County: Black Hawk College at Kewanee (campus police).
How Many Arrests Geneseo 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.
- Geneseo: 71 for 2025, 63 for 2024, 55 for 2023, 45 for 2022 and 24 for 2021.
Geneseo's 71 arrests in 2025 were up 13 percent from 63 in 2024.
Through September 2026, Geneseo reported 16 arrests, against 57 in the same months of 2025.
Across Henry County, the nine agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,848 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Geneseo Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Geneseo 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 2019 the jail held about 100 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 132 beds, and it ran at 77 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 Henry County Sheriff's Office at henrycty.com/m/directory/department?did=59 (page title: Sheriff's Office | Staff Directory), phone 309-937-3901, 311 W Center Street Cambridge, IL 61238, Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 2, 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 Geneseo
Whether someone was arrested in Geneseo, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Circuit Court of Henry County, kept by the Circuit Clerk, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date; the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at henrycty.com/264/States-Attorney, phone 309-937-3582).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at henrycountycourts.org/case-search (page title: Henry County Court Case Search), belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of Henry County.
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 Geneseo
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 Geneseo police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofgeneseo.com/departments/police/contact-us (page title: Contact The Police | City of Geneseo, Illinois), phone 309-944-5141, 119 S. Oakwood Ave. Geneseo, IL 61254, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Henry County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 309-937-3901.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, 309-937-3582, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Circuit Court of Henry County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at henrycountycourts.org/case-search, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The Henry County guide covers every agency in the county: Henry County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Geneseo each year?
Geneseo reported 71 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Geneseo?
Ask the Henry County Sheriff's Office at 309-937-3901; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at henrycty.com/m/directory/department?did=59.
Where are people arrested in Geneseo booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Henry County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Geneseo?
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 Geneseo?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Geneseo police for its own arrests, the Henry 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 Geneseo 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.