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 26, 2026.
South Beloit, Illinois, in Winnebago County, has about 8,000 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: South Beloit public records, Winnebago County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in South Beloit
The FBI lists South Beloit with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as South Beloit Police Department. It reported 233 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 South Beloit Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- South Beloit: 233 for 2025, 157 for 2024, 176 for 2023, 155 for 2022 and 122 for 2021.
South Beloit's 233 arrests in 2025 were up 48 percent from 157 in 2024.
Through June 2026, South Beloit reported 98 arrests, against 103 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 South Beloit Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in South Beloit is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
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 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 South Beloit
For South Beloit 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 South Beloit
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 South Beloit police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at southbeloit.org/police (page title: Police Department | City of South Beloit), phone 815-389-3491, 519 Blackhawk Blvd, South Beloit, IL 61080, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 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 South Beloit each year?
South Beloit reported 233 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in South Beloit?
Ask the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at inmates.winnebagosheriff.com.
Where are people arrested in South Beloit 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 South Beloit?
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 South Beloit?
From the agency that made the arrest: the South Beloit 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 South Beloit 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.