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 2023. 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 2, 2026.
South Bend, Indiana, in St. Joseph County, has about 104,000 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 St. Joseph 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: South Bend public records, St. Joseph County arrest records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in South Bend
The FBI lists South Bend with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as South Bend Police Department. It reported 2,766 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year. 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 St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 589 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in St. Joseph County: Indiana University at South Bend and the University of Notre Dame (campus police); the St. Joseph County Airport Authority (other).
How Many Arrests South Bend 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.
- South Bend: 2,766 for 2023, 1,375 for 2022, 1,810 for 2020 and 2,248 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
South Bend's 2,766 arrests in 2023 were up 101 percent from 1,375 in 2022.
Across St. Joseph County, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,582 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in South Bend Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in South Bend 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 670 people, up from about 630 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 829 beds, and it ran at 87 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office at sjcpd.org/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | St. Joseph County Police Department), phone 574-235-9611, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 South Bend
An arrest in South Bend can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the St. Joseph 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/st-joseph-county).
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 South Bend
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 South Bend police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at police.southbendin.gov/about-sbpd/record-bureau (page title: Records bureau | South Bend Police Department), phone (574) 235-9212, 701 W. Sample St. South Bend, IN 46601, Monday - Friday: 7AM-11PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 574-235-9611.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the St. Joseph Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at in.gov/courts/local/st-joseph-county.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The St. Joseph County guide covers every agency in the county: St. Joseph County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in South Bend each year?
South Bend reported 2,766 arrests to the FBI for 2023, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in South Bend?
Look on the custody page of the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office at sjcpd.org/inmate-search, or call 574-235-9611. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in South Bend booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in South Bend?
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 South Bend?
From the agency that made the arrest: the South Bend police for its own arrests, the St. Joseph 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.
Is this the official South Bend 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.