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.
Wayne County, Illinois, has about 16,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Wayne 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: Wayne County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wayne County
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wayne County. It reported 111 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Wayne County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Fairfield, 4,790 residents: 61 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wayne City, 992 residents.
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 Wayne 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.
- Wayne County Sheriff's Office: 111 for 2025, 122 for 2024 and 140 for 2023.
- Fairfield: 61 for 2025, 81 for 2024, 54 for 2023, 32 for 2022, 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 172 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 172 in 2025 against 203 in 2024, down 15 percent.
Through May 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 43 arrests, against 103 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wayne County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wayne 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 18 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 34 beds, and it ran at 53 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Wayne County
Whether someone was arrested in Wayne County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Circuit Court of Wayne 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 waynecountyil.gov/states-attorney-2, phone 618-842-6631).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/53/Wayne-County-Courthouse/court (page title: Wayne County Courthouse | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (618) 842-7684, belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of Wayne 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Fairfield or Wayne City: 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, 618-842-6631, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Circuit Court of Wayne County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (618) 842-7684, is a lower court's.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at waynecountyil.gov/foia-information (page title: FOIA Information | Wayne County, Illinois).
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Wayne County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the nine cities in Wayne County: Fairfield and Wayne City. Cisne, Jeffersonville, Sims, Mount Erie, Johnsonville, Golden Gate and Keenes 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 Wayne County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wayne County each year?
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office reported 111 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 172 between them.
Where are people arrested in Wayne County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wayne 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 Wayne County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wayne 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 waynecountyil.gov/foia-information.
Is this the official Wayne 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.