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 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Canton, Ohio, in Stark County, has about 69,000 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas. 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: Canton public records, Stark County arrest records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Canton
The FBI lists Canton with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Canton Police Department. It reported 2,164 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 Stark County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 389 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Stark County: the Stark County Park District and Republic N&T Railroad (other); Walsh University and Malone University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Canton 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.
- Canton: 2,164 for 2025, 2,446 for 2024, 2,259 for 2023, 2,425 for 2022, 1,481 for 2021 and 2,056 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Canton's 2,164 arrests in 2025 were down 12 percent from 2,446 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Canton reported 1,495 arrests, against 1,191 in the same months of 2025.
Across Stark County, the 13 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,278 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Canton Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Canton 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 2023 the jail held about 440 people, down from about 490 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 534 beds, and it ran at 83 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 Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction lists its inmates at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Canton
For Canton the place to look is the case index of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at probate.co.stark.oh.us/search/search.html).
Ohio does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation 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 Canton
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Ohio Public Records Act the agency must answer promptly, within a reasonable period of time, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Canton police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at cantonohio.gov/339/Police-Records (page title: Police Records | Canton, OH), phone 330-489-3172, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Stark County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at probate.co.stark.oh.us/search/search.html.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
The Stark County guide covers every agency in the county: Stark County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Canton each year?
Canton reported 2,164 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Canton booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Stark County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Canton?
The court files of criminal cases in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Ohio Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Canton?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Canton police for its own arrests, the Stark County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Ohio Public Records Act the answer is due promptly, within a reasonable period of time.
Is this the official Canton 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.