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 24, 2026.
Newton County, Mississippi, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Newton County Sheriff's Office and three city 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Newton 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, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Newton County public records, Mississippi arrest records, Mississippi inmate search and Mississippi criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Newton County
The Newton County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Newton County. It reported 107 arrests for 2025.
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:
- Newton, 3,079 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Union, 2,003 residents: 30 arrests reported for 2025.
- Decatur, 1,886 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Newton 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.
- Newton: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Decatur: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Newton County Sheriff's Office: 107 for 2025.
- Union: 30 for 2025, 50 for 2024, 58 for 2023, 50 for 2022, 35 for 2021 and 46 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,441 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,334 in 2025 against 2,354 in 2024, down 0.8 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,261 arrests, against 1,402 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Newton County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Newton 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 2019 the jail held about 35 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 66 beds, and it ran at 53 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Newton County
For Newton County the place to look is the case index of the Newton County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.ms.gov).
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 Newton 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 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 Newton County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Newton, Union or Decatur: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Newton County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courts.ms.gov.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Criminal Information Center.
Cities in Newton County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the five cities in Newton County: Newton, Union and Decatur. Hickory and Chunky 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 Newton County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Newton County each year?
Newton reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,441 between them.
Where are people arrested in Newton County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Newton County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Newton County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Newton 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 Newton County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Newton County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Mississippi Public Records Act the answer is due within 7 working days, or up to 14 where local rules allow.
Is this the official Newton 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.