Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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 October 9, 2026.
Athens County, Ohio, has about 63,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Athens County Sheriff's Office, seven city agencies and two campus 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 Athens County Court of Common Pleas. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Athens County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Athens County
The Athens County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Athens County. It reported 414 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside seven 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:
- Athens, 24,824 residents: 409 arrests reported for 2025.
- Nelsonville, 4,555 residents: 161 arrests reported for 2025.
- Glouster, 1,647 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2019.
- Albany, 1,012 residents.
- Buchtel, 519 residents.
- Coolville, 447 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Jacksonville, 397 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
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.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Athens County: Ohio University and Hocking College (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Athens County
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.
- Jacksonville: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Coolville: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Athens County Sheriff's Office: 414 for 2025, 440 for 2024, 491 for 2023, 385 for 2022, 380 for 2021 and 300 for 2020.
- Athens: 409 for 2025, 467 for 2024, 640 for 2023, 527 for 2022, 444 for 2021 and 474 for 2020.
- Nelsonville: 161 for 2025, 161 for 2024, 182 for 2023, 115 for 2022, 69 for 2021 and 95 for 2020.
- Glouster: 7 for 2019.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,288 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,288 in 2025 against 3,372 in 2024, down 2.5 percent.
Through July 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,649 arrests, against 1,661 in the same months of 2025.
Glouster and Albany reported only part of 2025 (1 month and 1 month) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Athens County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Athens County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 91 people, down from about 100 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 86 beds, and it ran at 106 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 Athens County
For Athens County the place to look is the case index of the Athens County Court of Common Pleas, kept by the Clerk of Courts, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at ci.athens.oh.us/108/Athens-County-Municipal-Court (page title: Athens County Municipal Court | Athens, OH), phone (740) 592-3328, belongs to a lower court, not to the Athens 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 Athens 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 Athens County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Athens, Nelsonville, Glouster, Albany, Buchtel, Coolville or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Ohio University or Hocking College: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas it is kept by the Clerk of Courts. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at ci.athens.oh.us, phone (740) 592-3328, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
The other Athens County guides go further: warrants, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets and property records.
Cities in Athens County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for seven of the ten cities in Athens County: Athens, Nelsonville, Glouster, Albany, Buchtel, Coolville and Jacksonville. Chauncey, Trimble and Amesville have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Athens County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Athens County each year?
Jacksonville reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,288 between them.
Where are people arrested in Athens County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Athens County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Athens County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Athens 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 Athens County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Athens 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 Athens 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.