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 4, 2026.
Putnam County, Illinois, has about 5,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 Putnam 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: Putnam County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Putnam County
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Putnam County. It reported 21 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Putnam County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Granville, 1,331 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 Putnam 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.
- Putnam County Sheriff's Office: 21 for 2025, 30 for 2024, 24 for 2023, 9 for 2022, 30 for 2021 and 22 for 2020.
- Granville: 5 for 2024.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 35 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 30 in 2024 against 24 in 2023.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Putnam County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Putnam 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 2019 the jail held about 1 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 5 beds, and it ran at 20 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 Putnam County Sheriff's Office at putnamil.gov/departments/sherriffs_office/county_jail.php (page title: Putnam County Jail), phone 815-925-7015, 120 N. 4th St Hennepin, IL 61327, Wednesday from 7pm-8pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Putnam County
An arrest in Putnam County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Circuit Court of Putnam County, kept by the Circuit Clerk, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date; the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at putnamil.gov/government/state_attorneys_office/index.php, phone (815) 925-7378).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/41/Putnam-County-Courthouse/court (page title: Putnam County Courthouse | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (815) 925-7016, belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of Putnam 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 815-925-7015.
- An arrest in Granville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (815) 925-7378, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Circuit Court of Putnam County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (815) 925-7016, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Putnam County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the six cities in Putnam County: Granville. Hennepin, Mark, McNabb, Magnolia and Standard 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 Putnam County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Putnam County each year?
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office reported 21 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Putnam County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 35 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Putnam County?
Ask the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 815-925-7015; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at putnamil.gov.
Where are people arrested in Putnam County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Putnam 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 Putnam County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Putnam 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 Putnam 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.