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.
Wayne County, Mississippi, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and one city 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Wayne 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: Wayne County public records, Mississippi arrest records, Mississippi inmate search and Mississippi criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wayne County
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wayne County. It reported 116 arrests for 2025.
One city in Wayne County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Waynesboro, 4,507 residents: 179 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Wayne 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.
- Waynesboro: 179 for 2024, 181 for 2023, 215 for 2022 and 102 for 2021.
- Wayne County Sheriff's Office: 116 for 2025, 146 for 2024, 19 for 2023, 17 for 2022 and 22 for 2021.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 325 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 325 in 2024 against 200 in 2023, up 63 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wayne County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wayne 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 2019 the jail held about 45 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 125 beds, and it ran at 36 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 Wayne County
An arrest in Wayne County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Wayne 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/mec/mec.php, phone 601-968-6628); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at waynecounty.ms/district-attorney, phone 601-482-9759).
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 Wayne 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 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 Wayne County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Waynesboro: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 601-482-9759, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Wayne County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php, phone 601-968-6628.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Criminal Information Center.
Cities in Wayne County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Waynesboro, the one city in Wayne County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Wayne County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wayne County each year?
Waynesboro reported 179 arrests to the FBI for 2024, and the two agencies with every month of 2024 on file reported 325 between them.
Where are people arrested in Wayne County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wayne County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Wayne 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 Wayne County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wayne 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 Wayne 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.