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.
Johnson County, Illinois, has about 13,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Johnson 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 Johnson 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: Johnson County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Johnson County
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Johnson County. It reported 61 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Johnson County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Vienna, 1,350 residents: 9 arrests reported for 2025.
- Goreville, 1,054 residents: 1 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 Johnson 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.
- Johnson County Sheriff's Office: 61 for 2025, 16 for 2024, 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Vienna: 9 for 2025, 10 for 2024, 6 for 2023, 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Goreville: 1 for 2025 and 1 for 2024.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 71 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 71 in 2025 against 27 in 2024.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 39 arrests, against 45 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Johnson County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Johnson 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 41 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 33 beds, and it ran at 122 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Johnson County
For Johnson County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Johnson 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/93/Johnson-County-Courthouse/court (page title: Johnson County Courthouse | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (618) 658-4751, belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of Johnson 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 Johnson 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 Johnson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Vienna or Goreville: 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 Johnson County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (618) 658-4751, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Johnson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the seven cities in Johnson County: Vienna and Goreville. Cypress, Buncombe, New Burnside, Belknap and Simpson 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 Johnson County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Johnson County each year?
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office reported 61 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 71 between them.
Where are people arrested in Johnson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Johnson 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 Johnson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Johnson 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 Johnson 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.