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 25, 2026.
Wilmington, Ohio, in Clinton County, has about 13,000 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 Clinton 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: Wilmington public records, Clinton County arrest records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Wilmington
The FBI lists Wilmington with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Wilmington Police Department. It reported 519 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 Clinton County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 14 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Wilmington 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.
- Wilmington: 519 for 2023, 418 for 2022, 475 for 2021, 386 for 2020 and 306 for 2019.
Wilmington's 519 arrests in 2023 were up 24 percent from 418 in 2022.
Across Clinton County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 41 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wilmington Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Wilmington 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 47 people, down from about 75 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 92 beds, and it ran at 82 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 Clinton County Sheriff's Office at clintonsheriff.com/mobile-patrol-phone-app (page title: Mobile Patrol Phone App | Clinton County Sheriff's Office), phone (937) 382-1611, 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 Wilmington
An arrest in Wilmington can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Clinton 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 co.clinton.oh.us/ProsecutingAttorney, phone 937-382-4559).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at clintoncountycourts.org/recordSearch.php (page title: Clinton County Clerk of Courts | Record Search), belongs to a lower court, not to the Clinton 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 Wilmington
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 Wilmington police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at wilmingtonohio.gov/question/how-do-i-get-a-copy-of-a-police-report (page title: How do I get a copy of a police report? | Wilmington, OH), phone (937) 382-3833, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (937) 382-1611.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 937-382-4559, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas it is kept by the Clerk of Courts. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at clintoncountycourts.org/recordSearch.php, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
The Clinton County guide covers every agency in the county: Clinton County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wilmington each year?
Wilmington reported 519 arrests to the FBI for 2023, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wilmington?
Ask the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at (937) 382-1611; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clintonsheriff.com/mobile-patrol-phone-app.
Where are people arrested in Wilmington booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wilmington?
The court files of criminal cases in the Clinton 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 Wilmington?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wilmington police for its own arrests, the Clinton 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 Wilmington 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.