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.
Wood River, Illinois, in Madison County, has about 10,000 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 Madison 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: Wood River public records, Madison County arrest records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Wood River
The FBI lists Wood River with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Wood River Police Department. It reported 132 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,121 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Madison County: Norfolk Southern Railway in Madison County and Terminal Railroad Association (other); Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (campus police).
How Many Arrests Wood River 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.
- Wood River: 132 for 2025, 138 for 2024, 139 for 2023, 179 for 2022 and 209 for 2021.
Wood River's 132 arrests in 2025 were down 4.3 percent from 138 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Wood River reported 92 arrests, against 90 in the same months of 2025.
Across Madison County, the 20 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,317 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wood River Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wood River 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 2023 the jail held about 240 people, down from about 310 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 306 beds, and it ran at 80 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office at sheriffrandytucker.com/madison-county-detention-center (page title: Madison County Detention Center | Madison County Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Wood River
For Wood River the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Madison County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at madisoncountyil.gov/departments/circuit_clerk/court_records_search.php, phone (800) 250-9884).
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 Wood River
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 Wood River police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at woodriver.org/government/services/clerks-office (page title: City Clerk’s Office | The City of Wood River, Illinois), phone (618) 251-3100, MONDAY-FRIDAY 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Madison County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Madison County, through the court records page at madisoncountyil.gov, phone (800) 250-9884.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at madisoncountyil.gov (page title: Madison County Illinois Circuit Clerk Copy Requests).
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The Madison County guide covers every agency in the county: Madison County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wood River each year?
Wood River reported 132 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wood River?
Ask the Madison County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriffrandytucker.com.
Where are people arrested in Wood River booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Madison County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wood River?
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 Wood River?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wood River police for its own arrests, the Madison 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at madisoncountyil.gov.
Is this the official Wood River 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.