Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 September 30, 2026.
Salem, Indiana, in Washington County, has about 6,500 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Washington Circuit and Superior Courts. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Salem public records, Washington County arrest records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Salem
The FBI lists Salem with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Salem Police Department. It reported 1,152 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Washington County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 146 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Salem 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.
- Salem: 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, Salem reported 666 arrests, against 864 in the same months of 2025.
Across Washington County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,298 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Salem Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Salem 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 130 people, down from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 254 beds, and it ran at 75 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 Indiana Department of Correction lists its inmates at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Salem
An arrest in Salem can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Washington Circuit and Superior Courts, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at in.gov/courts/local/washington-county); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtoncounty.in.gov/government/laws_courts_and_justice/washingt..., phone 812-883-6560).
Statewide, mycase.IN.gov is the Indiana courts' free statewide case search.
Indiana is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online, through the Indiana 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 Salem
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 Indiana Access to Public Records Act the agency must answer within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email, and it may charge a copy fee set by the agency, within statutory limits.
- An arrest by the Salem police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofsalemin.com/index.php/government/police-dept (page title: City of Salem Police Department), phone (812) 883-1634, 38 Public Square Salem, IN 47167, Monday through Friday 4P.M. - 6P.M., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 812-883-6560, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at in.gov/courts/local/washington-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at indy.gov/activity/request-a-public-record (page title: ).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Washington County guide covers every agency in the county: Washington County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Salem each year?
Salem reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Salem booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Salem?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Indiana State Police: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Salem?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Salem police for its own arrests, the Washington County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act the answer is due within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at indy.gov/activity/request-a-public-record.
Is this the official Salem website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.