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.
St. Louis City, Missouri, has about 280,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office and 53 city agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the city jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the St. Louis City County 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 and common questions.
Related guides: St. Louis City public records, Missouri arrest records, Missouri inmate search and Missouri criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in St. Louis City
The St. Louis City Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for St. Louis City. It reported 1,177 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in St. Louis City
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.
- St. Louis: 9,082 for 2025, 9,261 for 2024, 9,146 for 2023, 9,038 for 2022, 9,378 for 2021 and 13,466 for 2020.
- Maryland Heights: 1,258 for 2025, 1,667 for 2024, 1,999 for 2023, 2,309 for 2022, 1,397 for 2021 and 1,911 for 2020.
- Chesterfield: 1,257 for 2025, 1,464 for 2024, 1,199 for 2023, 1,557 for 2022, 1,090 for 2021 and 1,879 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- St. Louis City Sheriff's Office: 1,177 for 2025, 1,175 for 2024, 1,176 for 2023, 1,170 for 2022, 1,145 for 2021 and 1,167 for 2020.
- Hazelwood: 1,082 for 2025, 1,071 for 2024, 939 for 2023, 639 for 2022, 721 for 2021 and 782 for 2020.
- Richmond Heights: 958 for 2025, 925 for 2024, 659 for 2023, 448 for 2022, 352 for 2021 and 279 for 2020.
- Bridgeton: 606 for 2025, 858 for 2024, 960 for 2023, 659 for 2022, 438 for 2021 and 698 for 2020.
- Vinita Park: 561 for 2025, 595 for 2024, 484 for 2023, 427 for 2022, 488 for 2021 and 870 for 2020.
- Maplewood: 498 for 2025, 600 for 2024, 548 for 2023, 299 for 2022, 200 for 2021 and 333 for 2020.
- Ballwin: 472 for 2025, 334 for 2024, 290 for 2023, 250 for 2022, 290 for 2021 and 185 for 2020.
- Berkeley: 458 for 2025, 473 for 2024, 411 for 2023, 469 for 2022, 377 for 2021 and 268 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Overland: 453 for 2025, 433 for 2024, 406 for 2023, 482 for 2022, 426 for 2021 and 409 for 2020.
Together, the 42 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 23,803 arrests that year. The 39 of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 23,321 in 2025 against 23,946 in 2024, down 2.6 percent.
Through July 2026, the 38 agencies with every month so far on file reported 13,886 arrests, against 13,526 in the same months of 2025.
Warson Woods, Breckenridge Hills, Bella Villa, Shrewsbury and two more reported only part of 2025 (11 months, 7 months, 11 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in St. Louis City Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in St. Louis City is held at the city 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 590 people, down from about 1,060 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2021, the last year with a capacity figure, was 883 beds, and it ran at 70 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. Louis City Sheriff's Office at stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-safety/corrections/stl... (page title: Locate a St. Louis City Inmate), phone 314-241-8339, 200 S. Tucker Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63102, Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, 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 Missouri Department of Corrections lists its inmates at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in St. Louis City
An arrest in St. Louis City can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the city jail; the case index of the St. Louis City County Circuit Court, kept by the Circuit Clerk, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date; the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/circuit-attorney/index.cfm, phone (314) 622-4941).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the city, at stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/municipal-courts/city-court-v... (page title: Search for a Municipal Court Case), phone (314) 622-3231, belongs to a lower court, not to the St. Louis City County Circuit Court.
Statewide, Case.net is the Missouri courts' free statewide case search.
Missouri is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the open record search on the MACHS site lets anyone check convictions by name, through the Missouri State Highway Patrol Criminal Justice Information Services Division. 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 St. Louis City
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 Missouri Sunshine Law the agency must answer within 3 business days, and it may charge research time and copying.
- An arrest by the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 314-241-8339.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (314) 622-4941, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the St. Louis City County Circuit Court it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the city, at stlouis-mo.gov, phone (314) 622-3231, is a lower court's.
- Any city record that is not posted: the city records request page SearchSystems verified is at stlouis-mo.gov (page title: Sunshine Law Requests).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in St. Louis City each year?
St. Louis reported 9,082 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 42 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 23,803 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in St. Louis City?
Look on the custody page of the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office at stlouis-mo.gov, or call 314-241-8339. It covers people booked into the city jail.
Where are people arrested in St. Louis City booked?
Those kept in custody go to the city jail, run by the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in St. Louis City?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Criminal Justice Information Services Division: the open record search on the MACHS site lets anyone check convictions by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Missouri Sunshine Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in St. Louis City?
From the agency that made the arrest: the St. Louis City Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Missouri Sunshine Law the answer is due within 3 business days; the city records request page SearchSystems verified is at stlouis-mo.gov.
Is this the official St. Louis City website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.