Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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 23, 2026.
Adams County, Ohio, has about 28,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Adams County Sheriff's Office and five city agencies. 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Adams County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Adams County
The Adams County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Adams County. It reported 29 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside five of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- West Union, 3,088 residents: 3 arrests reported for 2019.
- Manchester, 1,858 residents.
- Peebles, 1,760 residents.
- Winchester, 998 residents.
- Seaman, 970 residents.
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.
Arrest Counts on File for Adams County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Adams County the counts on file are partial: West Union, Seaman, Peebles, Manchester and two more have sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Adams County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Adams County 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 48 people, down from about 59 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 38 beds, and it ran at 155 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Adams County
An arrest in Adams County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Adams 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 adamscountyoh.gov/prosecutor, phone 937-544-3600).
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at adamscountycourts.com/searchSelect.php (page title: Adams County Courts), phone (937) 544-2921, belongs to a lower court, not to the Adams 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 Adams 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 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 Adams County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in West Union, Manchester, Peebles, Winchester or Seaman: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 937-544-3600, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas it is kept by the Clerk of Courts. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at adamscountycourts.com/searchSelect.php, phone (937) 544-2921, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Adams County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the five cities in Adams County: West Union, Manchester, Peebles, Winchester and Seaman.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Adams County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are people arrested in Adams County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Adams County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Adams County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Adams 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 Adams County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Adams County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Ohio Public Records Act the answer is due promptly, within a reasonable period of time.
Is this the official Adams 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.