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 on September 23, 2026.
De Witt County, Illinois, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the DeWitt County Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. An arrest 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 De Witt County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: De Witt County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in De Witt County
The DeWitt County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for De Witt County. It reported 63 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in De Witt County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Clinton, 6,881 residents: 262 arrests reported for 2025.
- Farmer City, 1,817 residents: 36 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 Arrests Each Agency Reports in De Witt County
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.
- Clinton: 262 for 2025, 306 for 2024 and 398 for 2023.
- DeWitt County Sheriff's Office: 63 for 2025, 102 for 2024, 61 for 2023 and 51 for 2022.
- Farmer City: 36 for 2025, 34 for 2024, 36 for 2023, 22 for 2022, 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 361 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 361 in 2025 against 442 in 2024, down 18 percent.
Through May 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 131 arrests, against 136 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in De Witt County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in De Witt County 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 2019 the jail held about 24 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 24 beds, and it ran at 100 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the DeWitt County Sheriff's Office at dewittsheriff.com/jail (page title: DeWitt County Sheriff's Office | Jail | Visitation, Inmate Search, & More), phone 217.935.3196, 101 W. Washington St. Clinton, IL 61727, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 De Witt County
An arrest in De Witt County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the DeWitt County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Circuit Court of De Witt County, kept by the Circuit Clerk, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/143/Dewitt-County-Courthouse/court (page title: Dewitt County Courthouse | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (217) 935-7750, belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of De Witt County.
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 De Witt County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 DeWitt County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 217.935.3196.
- An arrest in Clinton or Farmer City: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Circuit Court of De Witt County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (217) 935-7750, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in De Witt County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the seven cities in De Witt County: Clinton and Farmer City. Wapella, Waynesville, Weldon, Kenney and De Witt have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Circuit Court of De Witt County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in De Witt County each year?
Clinton reported 262 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 361 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in De Witt County?
Look on the custody page of the DeWitt County Sheriff's Office at dewittsheriff.com/jail, or call 217.935.3196. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in De Witt County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the DeWitt County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in De Witt County?
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 De Witt County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the DeWitt 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.
Is this the official De Witt 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.