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.
Pontiac, Illinois, in Livingston County, has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pontiac is held at the county jail, run by the Livingston 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: Pontiac public records, Livingston County inmate search, Pontiac arrest records, Pontiac warrants, Pontiac criminal records, Pontiac court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Pontiac
The county jail, run by the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Pontiac, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Livingston County Sheriff's Office at livcoso.org/inmate-roster/filters/current/booking_time=desc/1 (page title: Inmate Roster | Livingston County Sheriff's Office | Sort Booking Time | Descending | Page 1), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Livingston County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 140 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 188 beds, and it ran at 77 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Livingston County has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 41 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Livingston County Jail
The Livingston County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Pontiac (filed by the FBI as Pontiac Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Pontiac.
The Streator Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Livingston County, so its arrests are not broken out for Livingston County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Pontiac's 322 for 2025, the Livingston County Sheriff's Office's 150 for 2025 and Fairbury's 45 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Livingston County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 517 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 Pontiac 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 Pontiac?
Look on the custody page of the Livingston County Sheriff's Office at livcoso.org. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Livingston County jail?
About 140 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 188 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Livingston 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 Pontiac 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.