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 4, 2026.
Marion, Illinois, in Williamson County, has about 17,000 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 Williamson 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: Marion public records, Williamson County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Marion
The FBI lists Marion with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Marion Police Department. It reported 1,076 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 Williamson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 0 arrests for 2019.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Williamson County: John A. Logan College (campus police).
How Many Arrests Marion 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.
- Marion: 1,076 for 2025 and 1,113 for 2024.
Marion's 1,076 arrests in 2025 were down 3.3 percent from 1,113 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Marion reported 775 arrests, against 742 in the same months of 2025.
Across Williamson County, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,793 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Marion Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Marion 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 2023 the jail held about 160 people, up from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 244 beds, and it ran at 66 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 Williamson County Sheriff's Office at wcsheriff.com/corrections2.html, phone 618-997-6541, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Marion
Whether someone was arrested in Marion, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Circuit Court of Williamson County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at williamsoncountyil.gov/departments/circuit-clerk, phone (618) 997-1301); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at williamsoncountyil.gov/states-attorney, phone (618) 998-2229).
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 Marion
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 Marion police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofmarionil.gov/legal-city-attorney (page title: City Attorney | Marion), phone 618.997.7245, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 618-997-6541.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (618) 998-2229, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Williamson County, through the court records page at williamsoncountyil.gov, phone (618) 997-1301.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The Williamson County guide covers every agency in the county: Williamson County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Marion each year?
Marion reported 1,076 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Marion?
Ask the Williamson County Sheriff's Office at 618-997-6541; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wcsheriff.com/corrections2.html.
Where are people arrested in Marion booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Marion?
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 Marion?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Marion police for its own arrests, the Williamson 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 Marion 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.