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 on September 30, 2026.
Erie County, Ohio, has about 74,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Erie County Sheriff's Office, seven 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 Erie 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: Erie County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Erie County
The Erie County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Erie County. It reported 379 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside six 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:
- Sandusky, 24,174 residents: 1,107 arrests reported for 2025.
- Huron, 6,630 residents: 60 arrests reported for 2025.
- Milan, 1,341 residents.
- Berlin Heights, 670 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bay View, 590 residents.
- Kelleys Island, 260 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 Vermilion Police Department and the Bellevue Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Erie County, so their arrests are not broken out for Erie County here.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Erie County: Erie Metroparks (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Erie 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.
- Kelleys Island: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Berlin Heights: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Sandusky: 1,107 for 2025, 1,115 for 2024, 973 for 2023, 888 for 2022, 866 for 2021 and 922 for 2020.
- Perkins Township: 618 for 2025, 679 for 2024, 512 for 2023, 568 for 2020 and 750 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Erie County Sheriff's Office: 379 for 2025, 292 for 2024, 225 for 2022, 299 for 2021, 307 for 2020 and 404 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
- Huron: 60 for 2025, 78 for 2024, 66 for 2023, 89 for 2022, 56 for 2021 and 83 for 2020.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,468 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 4,468 in 2025 against 4,468 in 2024.
Bay View and Milan reported only part of 2025 (1 month and 6 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Erie County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Erie 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 110 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 111 beds, and it ran at 113 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Erie County
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 Erie 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 Erie County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Sandusky, Huron, Milan, Berlin Heights, Bay View or Kelleys Island: 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 Erie Metroparks: the records office of the agency involved.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at auditor.eriecounty.oh.gov (page title: The Erie County Auditor).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Erie County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the seven cities in Erie County: Sandusky, Huron, Milan, Berlin Heights, Bay View and Kelleys Island. Castalia has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Perkins Township Police Department as a city agency in Erie County; Perkins 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 Erie County Court of Common Pleas.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Erie County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Sandusky (24,174)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Erie County each year?
Kelleys Island reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 4,468 between them.
Where are people arrested in Erie County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Erie County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Erie County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Erie 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 Erie County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Erie 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 auditor.eriecounty.oh.gov.
Is this the official Erie 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.