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.
Clark County, Ohio, has about 135,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Clark County Sheriff's Office, eight city agencies and one other agency. 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 Clark 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: Clark County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Clark County
The Clark County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Clark County. It reported 841 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists seven cities in Clark County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Springfield, 58,138 residents: 824 arrests reported for 2025.
- Enon, 2,448 residents.
- South Charleston, 1,695 residents.
- North Hampton, 452 residents.
- South Vienna, 407 residents.
- Tremont City, 346 residents.
- Donnelsville, 257 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 one more agency in Clark County: the Clark County Park District (other).
Arrest Counts on File for Clark County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Clark County the counts on file are partial: South Vienna, Clark County Sheriff's Office, Springfield, Donnelsville and five more have sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Clark County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clark 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 220 people, up from about 170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 181 beds, and it ran at 120 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 Clark County Sheriff's Office at clarkcountyohio.gov/223/Jail (page title: Jail | Clark County, OH), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
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 Clark County
For Clark County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at clarkcountyohio.gov/178/Prosecutor, phone (937) 521-1788).
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 Clark 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 Clark County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Springfield, Enon, South Charleston, North Hampton, South Vienna, Tremont City or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by the Clark County Park District: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (937) 521-1788, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at clarkcountyohio.gov/675/Records-Request (page title: Records Request | Clark County, OH).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Clark County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for seven of the nine cities in Clark County: Springfield, Enon, South Charleston, North Hampton, South Vienna, Tremont City and Donnelsville. New Carlisle and Catawba have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries German Township Police Department, Clark County as a city agency in Clark County; German Township is not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Clark County Court of Common Pleas.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Clark County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Springfield (58,138)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Clark County?
Ask the Clark County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clarkcountyohio.gov/223/Jail.
Where are people arrested in Clark County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Clark County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Clark County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Clark 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 Clark County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Clark 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at clarkcountyohio.gov/675/Records-Request.
Is this the official Clark 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.