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 September 25, 2026.
Rockford, Illinois, in Winnebago County, has about 147,000 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 Winnebago 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: Rockford public records, Winnebago County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Rockford
The FBI lists Rockford with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Rockford Police Department. It reported 4,728 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 Winnebago County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,921 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Winnebago County: Rock Valley College (campus police); the Rockford Park District, Greater Rockford Airport and Rockford Metro Centre (other).
How Many Arrests Rockford 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.
- Rockford: 4,728 for 2025, 4,687 for 2024, 4,129 for 2023, 3,805 for 2022, 3,355 for 2021 and 5,626 for 2020.
Rockford's 4,728 arrests in 2025 were up 0.9 percent from 4,687 in 2024.
Through September 2026, Rockford reported 3,438 arrests, against 3,634 in the same months of 2025.
Across Winnebago County, the 11 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,899 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Rockford Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Rockford 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 730 people, down from about 810 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,324 beds, and it ran at 58 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 Winnebago County Sheriff's Office at inmates.winnebagosheriff.com (page title: Winnebago County Sheriff's Office -- Inmate Inquiry), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 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 Rockford
For Rockford the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Winnebago County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at circuitclerk.wincoil.gov/access-court-records, phone 815-319-4500).
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 Rockford
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 Rockford police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at rockfordil.gov/201/How-to-Obtain-Information-from-the-Rockf (page title: How to Obtain Information from the Rockford Police Department | Rockford, IL), phone 779-500-6451, 557 S New Towne Drive Rockford, IL 61108, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Winnebago County, through the court records page at circuitclerk.wincoil.gov/access-court-records, phone 815-319-4500.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The Winnebago County guide covers every agency in the county: Winnebago County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Rockford each year?
Rockford reported 4,728 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Rockford?
Ask the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at inmates.winnebagosheriff.com.
Where are people arrested in Rockford booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Rockford?
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 Rockford?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Rockford police for its own arrests, the Winnebago 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 Rockford 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.