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.
Madison County, Illinois, has about 263,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Madison County Sheriff's Office, 23 city agencies and three campus, state or other 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 Madison 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: Madison County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Madison County
The Madison County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Madison County. It reported 1,121 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists 23 cities in Madison County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported, the largest twelve first; the rest are named in the cities section below:
- Granite City, 26,854 residents: 728 arrests reported for 2025.
- Edwardsville, 26,715 residents: 383 arrests reported for 2025.
- Alton, 24,967 residents: 915 arrests reported for 2025.
- Collinsville, 23,766 residents: 610 arrests reported for 2025.
- Glen Carbon, 13,883 residents: 426 arrests reported for 2023.
- Troy, 11,810 residents: 162 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wood River, 10,251 residents: 132 arrests reported for 2025.
- Highland, 10,028 residents: 80 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bethalto, 9,183 residents: 92 arrests reported for 2025.
- Maryville, 8,352 residents: 238 arrests reported for 2025.
- Pontoon Beach, 5,845 residents: 142 arrests reported for 2025.
- East Alton, 5,621 residents: 222 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 Pierron Police Department and the Fairmont City Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Madison County, so their arrests are not broken out for Madison County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Madison County: Norfolk Southern Railway in Madison County and Terminal Railroad Association (other); Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Madison 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.
- St. Jacob: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Venice: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Madison: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Madison County Sheriff's Office: 1,121 for 2025, 1,212 for 2024, 1,286 for 2023, 1,384 for 2022 and 1,517 for 2021.
- Alton: 915 for 2025, 776 for 2024, 751 for 2023, 702 for 2022 and 665 for 2021.
- Granite City: 728 for 2025, 784 for 2024, 808 for 2023, 740 for 2022 and 728 for 2021.
- Collinsville: 610 for 2025, 625 for 2024, 571 for 2023 and 533 for 2022.
- Edwardsville: 383 for 2025, 442 for 2024, 509 for 2023, 334 for 2022 and 287 for 2021.
- Maryville: 238 for 2025, 266 for 2024, 302 for 2023, 139 for 2022 and 65 for 2021.
- East Alton: 222 for 2025, 222 for 2024 and 196 for 2023.
- Troy: 162 for 2025, 163 for 2024, 176 for 2023, 231 for 2022 and 219 for 2021.
- Pontoon Beach: 142 for 2025 and 112 for 2024.
Together, the 20 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,317 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 8,317 in 2025 against 8,419 in 2024, down 1.2 percent.
Through July 2026, the 17 agencies with every month so far on file reported 4,571 arrests, against 4,691 in the same months of 2025.
Hartford, Glen Carbon and Roxana reported only part of 2025 (9 months, 11 months and 10 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Madison County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Madison 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 240 people, down from about 310 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 306 beds, and it ran at 80 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office at sheriffrandytucker.com/madison-county-detention-center (page title: Madison County Detention Center | Madison County Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Madison County
For Madison County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Madison County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at madisoncountyil.gov/departments/circuit_clerk/court_records_search.php, phone (800) 250-9884).
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 Madison 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Granite City, Edwardsville, Alton, Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Troy or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Norfolk Southern Railway in Madison County, Terminal Railroad Association or Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Madison County, through the court records page at madisoncountyil.gov, phone (800) 250-9884.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at madisoncountyil.gov (page title: Madison County Illinois Circuit Clerk Copy Requests).
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Madison County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 23 of the 27 cities in Madison County: the twelve named above and Madison, South Roxana, Venice, Roxana, St. Jacob, Hartford, Worden, Marine, Hamel, Livingston and Grantfork. Godfrey, Alhambra, New Douglas and Williamson 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 Madison County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Madison County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Granite City (26,854)
- Edwardsville (26,715)
- Collinsville (23,766)
- Glen Carbon (13,883)
- Troy (11,810)
- Wood River (10,251)
- Highland (10,028)
- East Alton (5,621)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Madison County each year?
St. Jacob reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 20 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 8,317 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Madison County?
Ask the Madison County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriffrandytucker.com.
Where are people arrested in Madison County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Madison County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Madison 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 Madison County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Madison 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 madisoncountyil.gov.
Is this the official Madison 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.