Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Bureau County, Illinois, has about 32,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Bureau County depends on where the incident happened: the Bureau County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Illinois Freedom of Information Act requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Bureau County public records, Bureau County arrest records, Bureau County warrants, Bureau County inmate search, Bureau County criminal records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Bureau County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In Bureau County that is the Bureau County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
The Peru Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Bureau County, so its arrests are not broken out for Bureau County here.
Reports from the Bureau County Sheriff's Office
The Bureau County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 5 violent and 76 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 5 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at bureaucounty-il.gov/sheriffs-department-directory (page title: Sheriff’s Department Directory | Bureau County, Illinois), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Bureau County
The ten cities the FBI lists in Bureau County with a reporting agency of their own:
- Princeton: 5 violent and 53 property crimes reported for 2025; 42 arrests reported for 2025.
- Spring Valley: 3 violent and 37 property crimes reported for 2025; 75 arrests reported for 2025.
- De Pue: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ladd: 0 violent and 3 property crimes reported for 2025; 3 arrests reported for 2025.
- Walnut: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- La Moille: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Buda: 10 arrests reported for 2023.
- Cherry: 0 violent and 0 property crimes reported for 2025; 0 arrests reported for 2025.
- Neponset: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bureau Junction: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Reports: Bureau County in 2025
The five agencies in Bureau County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 13 violent and 169 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the ten agencies in Bureau County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,885 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Illinois Freedom of Information Act Requires
Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer a request within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension, and it may charge copying only after the first 50 pages. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at circuitclerk.bureaucounty-il.gov/copy-requests (page title: Copy Requests | Bureau County Circuit Clerk).
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, 815-879-4941, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Bureau County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Bureau County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension.
How long does an agency in Bureau County have to answer?
Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension. It may charge copying only after the first 50 pages.
How do I get a report from the Bureau County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension.
Is this the official Bureau County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.