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 2023. 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 26, 2026.
Willoughby Hills, Ohio, in Lake County, has about 10,000 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 Lake 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: Willoughby Hills public records, Lake County arrest records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Willoughby Hills
The FBI lists Willoughby Hills with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Willoughby Hills Police Department. It reported 309 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year. 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 Lake County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 3,888 arrests for 2020.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Lake County: Lakeland Community College (campus police); Lake Metroparks (other).
How Many Arrests Willoughby Hills 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.
- Willoughby Hills: 309 for 2023, 191 for 2022 and 255 for 2021.
Willoughby Hills's 309 arrests in 2023 were up 62 percent from 191 in 2022.
Across Lake County, the ten agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,006 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Willoughby Hills Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Willoughby Hills 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 290 people, down from about 350 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 429 beds, and it ran at 68 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 Lake County Sheriff's Office at lakecountyohio.gov/sheriff/sheriffs-jail-roster (page title: Sheriff's Jail Roster | Sheriff), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, whose inmate locator is at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Willoughby Hills
An arrest in Willoughby Hills can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Lake County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at lakecountyohio.gov/coc/public-records-requests); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at lakecountyohio.gov/lakecountyprosecutor/office-directory-new, phone 440-350-2683).
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 Willoughby Hills
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 Willoughby Hills police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at willoughbyhills-oh.gov/departments/safety/police_faq.php (page title: Police FAQs), phone 440-942-9148, 35405 Chardon Road, Willoughby Hills, OH 44094, Monday - Friday 8am - 4pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Lake County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 440-350-2683, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at lakecountyohio.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at lakecountyohio.gov (page title: Public Records Requests | Clerk of Courts).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
The Lake County guide covers every agency in the county: Lake County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Willoughby Hills each year?
Willoughby Hills reported 309 arrests to the FBI for 2023, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Willoughby Hills?
Look on the custody page of the Lake County Sheriff's Office at lakecountyohio.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Willoughby Hills booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Lake County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Willoughby Hills?
The court files of criminal cases in the Lake 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 Willoughby Hills?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Willoughby Hills police for its own arrests, the Lake 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at lakecountyohio.gov.
Is this the official Willoughby Hills 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.