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 2, 2026.
Lake County, Illinois, has about 719,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Lake County depends on where the incident happened: the Lake 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: Lake County public records, Lake County arrest records, Lake County warrants, Lake County inmate search, Lake County criminal records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Lake 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 Lake County that is the Lake 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 FBI's agency list also places one campus police department and three other agencies in Lake County, each with a records office of its own.
The Barrington Police Department, the Island Lake Police Department, the Fox River Grove Police Department and one more are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Lake County, so their arrests are not broken out for Lake County here.
Reports from the Lake County Sheriff's Office
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 99 violent and 522 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 656 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at lakecountyil.gov/2031/Inmate-Information (page title: Inmate Information | Lake County, IL), 29 S Martin Luther King Jr Avenue, Waukegan, IL 60085, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 429), so open it in a browser.
Reports from the City Agencies in Lake County
The 33 cities the FBI lists in Lake County with a reporting agency of their own, the largest twelve first, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Waukegan: 332 violent and 1,375 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,366 arrests reported for 2025.
- Buffalo Grove: 12 violent and 185 property crimes reported for 2025; 290 arrests reported for 2025.
- Mundelein: 24 violent and 182 property crimes reported for 2025; 668 arrests reported for 2025.
- Highland Park: 17 violent and 231 property crimes reported for 2025; 312 arrests reported for 2025.
- North Chicago: 62 violent and 195 property crimes reported for 2025; 81 arrests reported for 2023.
- Gurnee: 37 violent and 605 property crimes reported for 2025; 529 arrests reported for 2025. The Gurnee police records page is at gurneeil.gov/departments/police/records/foia_requests_police_report... (verified September 25, 2026).
- Round Lake Beach: 23 violent and 209 property crimes reported for 2025; 456 arrests reported for 2025. The Round Lake Beach police department's page is at roundlakebeachil.gov/departments_and_services/police/faqs.php, phone 847-270-9111 (verified September 25, 2026).
- Vernon Hills: 19 violent and 289 property crimes reported for 2025; 334 arrests reported for 2025.
- Zion: 82 violent and 215 property crimes reported for 2025; 554 arrests reported for 2025.
- Grayslake: 6 violent and 110 property crimes reported for 2025; 126 arrests reported for 2025. The Grayslake police records page is at villageofgrayslake.com/366/Requesting-Police-Reports, phone 847-223-2341 (verified September 27, 2026).
- Libertyville: 228 arrests reported for 2023.
- Lake Zurich: 14 violent and 186 property crimes reported for 2025; 338 arrests reported for 2025. The Lake Zurich police department's page is at lakezurich.org/DocumentCenter/View/5653/FOI-Police-Department?bidId= (verified September 25, 2026).
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 rest: Lake Forest, Deerfield, Round Lake, Antioch, Lindenhurst, Wauconda, Fox Lake, Hawthorn Woods, Lake Villa, Lincolnshire, Park City, Round Lake Park, Winthrop Harbor, Lakemoor, Lake Bluff, Highwood, Kildeer, Riverwoods, Round Lake Heights, Bannockburn and Tower Lakes.
How Many Reports: Lake County in 2025
The 32 agencies in Lake County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 840 violent and 5,223 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the 31 agencies in Lake County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 7,816 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Lake County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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.