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.
Putnam County, Indiana, has about 38,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, two 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Putnam 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: Putnam County public records, Indiana arrest records, Indiana inmate search and Indiana criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Putnam County
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Putnam County.
The FBI lists two cities in Putnam County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Greencastle, 9,907 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Roachdale, 871 residents: 1,152 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 FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Putnam County: Depauw University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Putnam 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.
- Roachdale: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Greencastle: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
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.
Putnam County Sheriff's Office reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Putnam County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Putnam 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 94 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 154 beds, and it ran at 75 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 Putnam County Sheriff's Office at co.putnam.in.us/sheriff (page title: Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Putnam County
An arrest in Putnam County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Putnam 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/putnam-county); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.putnam.in.us/prosecutor, phone 765-653-2724).
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 Putnam 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 Putnam County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Greencastle or Roachdale: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Depauw University: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 765-653-2724, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Putnam Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at in.gov/courts/local/putnam-county.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Putnam County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the six cities in Putnam County: Greencastle and Roachdale. Cloverdale, Bainbridge, Fillmore and Russellville 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 Putnam Circuit and Superior Courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Putnam County each year?
Roachdale 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.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Putnam County?
Ask the Putnam County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.putnam.in.us/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Putnam County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Putnam 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 Putnam County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Putnam 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.
Is this the official Putnam 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.