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 2025. 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 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Pearl, Mississippi, in Rankin County, has about 28,000 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Rankin County Circuit Court. 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: Pearl public records, Rankin County arrest records, Mississippi arrest records and Mississippi inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Pearl
The FBI lists Pearl with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Pearl Police Department. It reported 3,954 arrests for 2025. 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 Rankin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 582 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Rankin County: Pearl Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division (state agency).
How Many Arrests Pearl 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.
- Pearl: 3,954 for 2025.
Through July 2026, Pearl reported 1,764 arrests, against 2,655 in the same months of 2025.
Across Rankin County, the seven agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,823 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Pearl Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pearl 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 2023 the jail held about 470 people, up from about 470 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 650 beds, and it ran at 72 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 Rankin County Sheriff's Office at www2.rankincounty.org/so/inmate/current.php (page title: Rankin County Jail | Current Inmates), phone (601) 825-1479, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Mississippi Department of Corrections lists its inmates at mdoc.ms.gov/inmate_search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Pearl
An arrest in Pearl can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Rankin County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Rankin County Circuit Court, kept by the Circuit Clerk for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date; the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at rankincounty.org/department, phone 601.608.0056).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at rankincounty.org/department/index.php?structureid=41 (page title: Justice Court | Rankin County, Mississippi), phone (601) 824-2668, belongs to a lower court, not to the Rankin County Circuit Court.
Mississippi does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Criminal Information Center goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Pearl
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 Mississippi Public Records Act the agency must answer within 7 working days, or up to 14 where local rules allow, and it may charge the actual cost of search, review and copying.
- An arrest by the Pearl police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at cityofpearl.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/City-of-Pearl-Records-Re... (page title: Revised 10/2024 City of Pearl Public Records Request Form), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Rankin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (601) 825-1479.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 601.608.0056, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Rankin County Circuit Court it is kept by the Circuit Clerk for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at rankincounty.org, phone (601) 824-2668, is a lower court's.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at rankincounty.org (page title: Public Information Requests | Rankin County, Mississippi).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Criminal Information Center.
The Rankin County guide covers every agency in the county: Rankin County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Pearl each year?
Pearl reported 3,954 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Pearl?
Look on the custody page of the Rankin County Sheriff's Office at www2.rankincounty.org/so/inmate/current.php, or call (601) 825-1479. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Pearl booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Rankin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Pearl?
The court files of criminal cases in the Rankin County Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Criminal Information Center is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Mississippi Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Pearl?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Pearl police for its own arrests, the Rankin County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Mississippi Public Records Act the answer is due within 7 working days, or up to 14 where local rules allow; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at rankincounty.org.
Is this the official Pearl 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.