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.
Pope County, Illinois, has about 3,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Pope County Sheriff's Office. 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 Pope 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: Pope County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Pope County
The Pope County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Pope County. It reported 1,152 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests The Pope County Sheriff's Office Reports
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.
- Pope County Sheriff's Office: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
Through September 2026, Pope County Sheriff's Office reported 666 arrests, against 864 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Pope County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pope 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 5 people, down from about 9 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 9 beds, and it ran at 105 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Pope County
For Pope County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court of Pope 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/40/Pope-County-Courthouse/court (page title: Pope County Courthouse | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (618) 683-8100, belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of Pope 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 Pope 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 Pope County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Circuit Court of Pope County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (618) 683-8100, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Pope County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Pope County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.
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 Pope County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Pope County each year?
The Pope County Sheriff's Office reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Pope County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Pope County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Pope 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 Pope County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Pope 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 Pope 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.