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 between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Lawrence County, Illinois, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office and four 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 Lawrence 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: Lawrence County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Lawrence County
The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Lawrence County. It reported 55 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four 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:
- Lawrenceville, 4,315 residents: 87 arrests reported for 2025.
- Sumner, 2,596 residents: 5 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bridgeport, 1,686 residents: 23 arrests reported for 2025.
- St. Francisville, 527 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 Lawrence 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.
- St. Francisville: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Lawrenceville: 87 for 2025 and 78 for 2024.
- Lawrence County Sheriff's Office: 55 for 2025, 44 for 2024 and 61 for 2023.
- Bridgeport: 23 for 2025, 32 for 2024, 36 for 2023 and 34 for 2022.
- Sumner: 5 for 2025, 0 for 2024 and 0 for 2019; 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,322 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,322 in 2025 against 1,306 in 2024, up 1.2 percent.
Through July 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 634 arrests, against 722 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Lawrence County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lawrence 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 17 people, down from about 21 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 22 beds, and it ran at 77 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office at lawrencecounty.illinois.gov/departments/sheriff-jail (page title: Lawrence County, Illinois), phone (618) 943-6080, 1306 Lexington Ave Lawrenceville, IL 62439, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
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 Lawrence County
For Lawrence County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Lawrence County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at lawrencecounty.illinois.gov/departments/circuit-clerk, phone 618-943-2815).
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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (618) 943-6080.
- An arrest in Lawrenceville, Sumner, Bridgeport or St. Francisville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Lawrence County, through the court records page at lawrencecounty.illinois.gov, phone 618-943-2815.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at lawrencecounty.illinois.gov (page title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests | Lawrence County, Illinois).
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The other Lawrence County guides go further: warrants, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Lawrence County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the five cities in Lawrence County: Lawrenceville, Sumner, Bridgeport and St. Francisville. Russellville has 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 Lawrence County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Lawrence County each year?
St. Francisville reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,322 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Lawrence County?
Ask the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office at (618) 943-6080; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lawrencecounty.illinois.gov.
Where are people arrested in Lawrence County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Lawrence 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at lawrencecounty.illinois.gov.
Is this the official Lawrence 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.