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. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
McLean County, Kentucky, has about 9,100 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the McLean County Sheriff's Office. 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 Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the McLean Circuit Court. 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: McLean County public records, Kentucky arrest records, Kentucky inmate search and Kentucky criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in McLean County
The McLean County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for McLean County. It reported 92 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests The McLean County Sheriff's Office Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- McLean County Sheriff's Office: 92 for 2025, 134 for 2024, 81 for 2023, 157 for 2022, 210 for 2021 and 188 for 2020.
The McLean County Sheriff's Office's 92 arrests in 2025 were down 31 percent from 134 in 2024.
Through July 2026, McLean County Sheriff's Office reported 66 arrests, against 68 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in McLean County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in McLean 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.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the McLean County Sheriff's Office at mcleancounty.ky.gov/county-sheriff (page title: County Sheriff | McLean County KY), phone (270) 273-3551, 135 East 2nd Street Calhoun, KY 42327, Mon. - Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Kentucky Department of Corrections lists its inmates at kool.corrections.ky.gov/.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in McLean County
For McLean County the place to look is the case index of the McLean Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at kycourts.gov/Courts/County-Information/Pages/McLean.aspx, phone 270-273-3966).
Kentucky is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Administrative Office of the Courts, not the state police, sells name-based criminal record reports to the public, for $25 a search, through the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts. 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 McLean County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Kentucky Open Records Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying, 10 cents a page for standard copies.
- An arrest by the McLean County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (270) 273-3551.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the McLean Circuit Court, through the court records page at kycourts.gov, phone 270-273-3966.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in McLean County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in McLean County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the McLean Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in McLean County each year?
The McLean County Sheriff's Office reported 92 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in McLean County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McLean County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in McLean County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts: the Administrative Office of the Courts, not the state police, sells name-based criminal record reports to the public, for $25. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Kentucky Open Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in McLean County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the McLean County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Kentucky Open Records Act the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official McLean 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.