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.
Monroe County, Illinois, has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and three 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 Monroe 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: Monroe County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Monroe County
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Monroe County. It reported 164 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Waterloo, 11,165 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2019.
- Columbia, 10,919 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2020.
- Valmeyer, 1,214 residents: 5 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Monroe 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.
- Monroe County Sheriff's Office: 164 for 2025, 112 for 2024, 158 for 2023, 135 for 2022 and 172 for 2021.
- Valmeyer: 5 for 2024, 0 for 2023, 8 for 2022, 5 for 2021 and 0 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Waterloo: 0 for 2019.
- Columbia: 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 117 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 117 in 2024 against 158 in 2023, down 26 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Monroe County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Monroe 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 2024 the jail held about 11 people, down from about 35 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 42 beds, and it ran at 83 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 Monroe County Sheriff's Office at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search (page title: Offender Search | mcso-html), 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 Monroe County
For Monroe County the place to look is the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at monroecountyil.gov/departments/states-attorney, phone 618-939-8681).
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 Monroe 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 Monroe County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Waterloo, Columbia or Valmeyer: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, 618-939-8681, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
The other Monroe County guides go further: police reports and property records.
Cities in Monroe County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the six cities in Monroe County: Waterloo, Columbia and Valmeyer. Hecker, Maeystown and Fults 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 Monroe County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Monroe County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Monroe County each year?
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office reported 164 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Monroe County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 117 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Monroe County?
Ask the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search.
Where are people arrested in Monroe County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Monroe 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 Monroe County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Monroe 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 Monroe 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.