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.
Jefferson County, Illinois, has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and one campus agency. 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 Jefferson 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: Jefferson County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Jefferson County
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jefferson County. It reported 11 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two 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:
- Mount Vernon, 14,162 residents: 203 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ina, 1,648 residents: 2 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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Jefferson County: Rend Lake College (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Jefferson 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.
- Mount Vernon: 203 for 2025 and 148 for 2024.
- Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: 11 for 2025, 28 for 2024, 20 for 2023, 165 for 2022, 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Ina: 2 for 2025, 1 for 2024, 6 for 2023, 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 216 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 216 in 2025 against 177 in 2024, up 22 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 199 arrests, against 125 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Jefferson County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Jefferson 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 2023 the jail held about 170 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 252 beds, and it ran at 67 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 Jefferson County
For Jefferson County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at jeffcocircuitclerk.illinois.gov/yourcourtinfo).
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 Jefferson County
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 Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Mount Vernon or Ina: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Rend Lake College: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, through the court records page at jeffcocircuitclerk.illinois.gov/yourcourtinfo.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Jefferson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the nine cities in Jefferson County: Mount Vernon and Ina. Woodlawn, Bluford, Dix, Waltonville, Bonnie, Belle Rive and Nason 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 Jefferson County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Jefferson County each year?
Mount Vernon reported 203 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 216 between them.
Where are people arrested in Jefferson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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.