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.
Gallatin County, Illinois, has about 4,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office and three 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 Gallatin 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: Gallatin County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Gallatin County
The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Gallatin County. It reported 0 arrests for 2020, its latest complete year.
Arrests inside three of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Shawneetown, 998 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2020.
- Ridgway, 805 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Equality, 506 residents: 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 Arrests Each Agency Reports in Gallatin County
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.
- Equality: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Ridgway: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Shawneetown: 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019.
- Gallatin County Sheriff's Office: 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,304 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,304 in 2025 against 2,304 in 2024.
Through September 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,332 arrests, against 1,728 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Gallatin County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Gallatin County 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 2019 the jail held about 9 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 11 beds, and it ran at 83 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Gallatin County
For Gallatin County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Gallatin 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/144/Gallatin-County-Courthouse/... (page title: Gallatin County Courthouse | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (618) 269-3140, belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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 Gallatin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Shawneetown, Ridgway or Equality: 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 Gallatin County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (618) 269-3140, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Gallatin County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the seven cities in Gallatin County: Shawneetown, Ridgway and Equality. New Haven, Omaha, Old Shawneetown and Junction 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 Gallatin County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Gallatin County each year?
Equality reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,304 between them.
Where are people arrested in Gallatin County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Gallatin 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 Gallatin County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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.