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.
Woodford County, Illinois, has about 38,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Woodford County Sheriff's Office, five city agencies and one campus 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 Woodford 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: Woodford County public records, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Woodford County
The Woodford County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Woodford County. It reported 0 arrests for 2019, its latest complete year.
Arrests inside five 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:
- Eureka, 5,189 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2020.
- Metamora, 3,870 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- El Paso, 2,732 residents.
- Washburn, 1,011 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Goodfield, 958 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2020.
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 Deer Creek Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Woodford County, so its arrests are not broken out for Woodford County here.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Woodford County: Eureka College (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Woodford 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.
- Metamora: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Washburn: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Woodford County Sheriff's Office: 0 for 2019.
- Eureka: 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019.
- Goodfield: 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,304 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,304 in 2025 against 2,304 in 2024.
Through September 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,332 arrests, against 1,728 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Woodford County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Woodford 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 40 people, down from about 50 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 86 beds, and it ran at 58 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 Woodford County
Whether someone was arrested in Woodford County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Circuit Court of Woodford 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 highway.woodfordcountyil.gov/196/Erik-Gibson-States-Attorney, phone 309-467-3212).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/58/Woodford-County-Courthouse/c... (page title: Woodford County Courthouse | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts), phone (309) 467-3312, belongs to a lower court, not to the Circuit Court of Woodford 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 Woodford 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 Woodford County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Eureka, Metamora, El Paso, Washburn or Goodfield: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Eureka College: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, 309-467-3212, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Circuit Court of Woodford County it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at illinoiscourts.gov, phone (309) 467-3312, is a lower court's.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at woodfordcountyil.gov (page title: Vital Records Requests | Woodford County, IL).
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Woodford County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for five of the 15 cities in Woodford County: Eureka, Metamora, El Paso, Washburn and Goodfield. Germantown Hills, Roanoke, Minonk, Congerville, Spring Bay, Benson, Bay View Gardens, Secor, Kappa and Panola 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 Woodford County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Woodford County each year?
Metamora reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,304 between them.
Where are people arrested in Woodford County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Woodford County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Woodford 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 Woodford County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Woodford 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 woodfordcountyil.gov.
Is this the official Woodford 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.