Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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 September 25, 2026.
Pekin, Illinois, in Tazewell County, has about 31,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pekin is held at the county jail, run by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Pekin public records, Tazewell County inmate search, Pekin arrest records, Pekin warrants, Pekin criminal records, Pekin court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Pekin
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pekin is held at the county jail, run by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.tazewell-il.gov/inmate-lookup-c (page title: Inmate Lookup | C | Tazewell County Sheriff), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Tazewell County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 140 people, down from about 150 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 236 beds, and it ran at 60 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Tazewell County has about 130,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Tazewell County Jail
The Tazewell County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Pekin (filed by the FBI as Pekin Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Pekin.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Tazewell County: Illinois Central College (campus police); the Pekin Park District and the Fon du Lac Park District (other agency).
The Goodfield Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Tazewell County, so its arrests are not broken out for Tazewell County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were East Peoria's 1,663 for 2025, Pekin's 1,380 for 2025 and Green Valley's 1,152 for 2025.
Together, the 13 agencies in Tazewell County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,540 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Pekin arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Illinois Department of Corrections lists its inmates at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Pekin?
Look on the custody page of the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.tazewell-il.gov/inmate-lookup-c. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Tazewell County jail?
About 140 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 236 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Tazewell County go?
To a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Is this the official Pekin 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.