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 1, 2026.
Marion County, Indiana, has about 982,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by four city agencies and seven campus, state or other 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Marion Circuit and Superior Courts. 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: Marion County public records, Indiana arrest records, Indiana inmate search and Indiana criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Marion County
The indy.gov: Marion County Sheriff’s Office is the county law enforcement agency of Marion County.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Lawrence, 49,817 residents: 770 arrests reported for 2025.
- Beech Grove, 14,566 residents: 380 arrests reported for 2025.
- Speedway, 14,268 residents: 368 arrests reported for 2025.
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 Cumberland Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Marion County, so its arrests are not broken out for Marion County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Marion County: Indiana University at Indianapolis, Marian University, the University of Indianapolis and Butler University (campus police); Indianapolis International Airport and Indianapolis Public Schools (other); Indiana Office of Inspector General (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Marion 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.
- Indianapolis: 21,474 for 2025, 21,297 for 2024, 22,360 for 2023, 22,117 for 2022, 25,509 for 2021 and 25,451 for 2020.
- Lawrence: 770 for 2025, 860 for 2024, 1,231 for 2023, 963 for 2022, 1,353 for 2021 and 1,199 for 2020.
- Beech Grove: 380 for 2025, 348 for 2024, 325 for 2023, 399 for 2022, 477 for 2021 and 636 for 2020.
- Speedway: 368 for 2025, 330 for 2024, 309 for 2023, 331 for 2022, 453 for 2021 and 356 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 22,992 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 22,992 in 2025 against 22,835 in 2024, up 0.7 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Marion County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Marion County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 2,130 people, down from about 2,290 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 2,985 beds, and it ran at 84 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 indy.gov: Marion County Sheriff’s Office at indy.gov/agency/marion-county-sheriffs-office, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Indiana Department of Correction, whose inmate locator is at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Marion County
Whether someone was arrested in Marion County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Marion 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/marion-county); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at indy.gov/agency/marion-county-prosecutors-office).
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 Marion 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 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 indy.gov: Marion County Sheriff’s Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Lawrence, Beech Grove or Speedway: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Indiana University at Indianapolis, Indianapolis International Airport or Marian University: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Marion Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at in.gov/courts/local/marion-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at indy.forms.fm (page title: Public Records Request | City of Indianapolis).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Marion County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the 14 cities in Marion County: Lawrence, Beech Grove and Speedway. Southport, Meridian Hills, Warren Park, Clermont, Homecroft, Rocky Ripple, Williams Creek, Wynnedale, Spring Hill, Crows Nest and North Crows Nest have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Indianapolis Police Department as a city agency in Marion County; Indianapolis is not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Marion Circuit and Superior Courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Marion County each year?
Indianapolis reported 21,474 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 22,992 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Marion County?
Ask the indy.gov: Marion County Sheriff’s Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at indy.gov/agency/marion-county-sheriffs-office.
Where are people arrested in Marion County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the indy.gov: Marion County Sheriff’s Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Marion County?
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 Marion County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the indy.gov: Marion County Sheriff’s Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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.forms.fm.
Is this the official Marion 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.