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.
Portsmouth, Ohio, in Scioto County, has about 17,000 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 Scioto 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: Portsmouth public records, Scioto County arrest records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Portsmouth
The FBI lists Portsmouth with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Portsmouth Police Department. It reported 615 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 Scioto County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 193 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Scioto County: Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Task Force (other); Shawnee State University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Portsmouth Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Portsmouth: 615 for 2025, 712 for 2024, 747 for 2023, 967 for 2021, 728 for 2020 and 999 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
Portsmouth's 615 arrests in 2025 were down 14 percent from 712 in 2024.
Through September 2026, Portsmouth reported 405 arrests, against 509 in the same months of 2025.
Across Scioto County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,019 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Portsmouth Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Portsmouth 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 150 people, up from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 139 beds, and it ran at 107 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Scioto County Sheriff's Office at sciotocountysheriff.org (page title: Sheriff | Scioto County Sheriff | Portsmouth), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
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 Portsmouth
An arrest in Portsmouth can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Scioto County Court of Common Pleas, kept by the Clerk of Courts, 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 sciotocountypo.org).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at sciotocountycpcourt.org/eservices/home.page.2 (page title: Scioto County Court of Common Pleas Records Search), belongs to a lower court, not to the Scioto County Court of Common Pleas.
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 Portsmouth
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 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 Portsmouth police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at portsmouthohpd.gov (page title: Portsmouth Police Department), phone (740) 354-5538, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Scioto County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Scioto County Court of Common Pleas it is kept by the Clerk of Courts. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at sciotocountycpcourt.org/eservices/home.page.2, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
The Scioto County guide covers every agency in the county: Scioto County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Portsmouth each year?
Portsmouth reported 615 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Portsmouth?
Ask the Scioto County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sciotocountysheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Portsmouth booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Scioto County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Portsmouth?
The court files of criminal cases in the Scioto 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 Portsmouth?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Portsmouth police for its own arrests, the Scioto 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 Portsmouth 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.