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 2024. 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.
Macomb, Illinois, in McDonough County, has about 15,000 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 McDonough 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: Macomb public records, McDonough County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Macomb
The FBI lists Macomb with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Macomb Police Department. It reported 89 arrests for 2024, 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 McDonough County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 0 arrests for 2020.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in McDonough County: Western Illinois University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Macomb 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.
- Macomb: 89 for 2024 and 128 for 2023.
Macomb's 89 arrests in 2024 were down 30 percent from 128 in 2023.
Across McDonough County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 1,241 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Macomb Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Macomb 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 2024 the jail held about 38 people, up from about 37 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 53 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 jail page of the McDonough County Sheriff's Office at ilsheriff.org/county/mcdonough (page title: McDonough County | Illinois Sheriffs' Association), phone (217) 753-2372, 110 South McArthur St., Macomb, IL 61455, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
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 Macomb
An arrest in Macomb can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Circuit Court of McDonough County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/33/McDonough-County-Courthouse/..., phone (309) 837-4891); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at mcg.mcdonough.il.us/statesattorney.html, phone (309)837-2309).
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 Macomb
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 Macomb police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at macombgov.org/departments/sheriffs-office/records-office (page title: Records office), Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; excluding holidays) 8 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the McDonough County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (217) 753-2372.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (309)837-2309, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of McDonough County, through the court records page at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (309) 837-4891.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The McDonough County guide covers every agency in the county: McDonough County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Macomb each year?
Macomb reported 89 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Macomb booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McDonough County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Macomb?
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 Macomb?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Macomb police for its own arrests, the McDonough 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 Macomb 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.