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 23, 2026.
Guernsey County, Ohio, has about 38,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Guernsey County Sheriff's Office and three 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 Guernsey 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: Guernsey County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Guernsey County
The Guernsey County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Guernsey County. It reported 1,152 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Cambridge, 10,036 residents: 171 arrests reported for 2025.
- Byesville, 2,347 residents: 21 arrests reported for 2023.
- Senecaville, 414 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Guernsey 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.
- Guernsey County Sheriff's Office: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Senecaville: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Cambridge: 171 for 2025, 139 for 2024, 78 for 2023, 148 for 2022, 195 for 2021 and 599 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Byesville: 21 for 2023 and 27 for 2022.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,475 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,475 in 2025 against 2,443 in 2024, up 1.3 percent.
Through September 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,442 arrests, against 1,865 in the same months of 2025.
Byesville reported only part of 2025 (9 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Guernsey County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Guernsey 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 99 people, down from about 110 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 66 beds, and it ran at 168 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 Guernsey County
An arrest in Guernsey County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Guernsey County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at guernseycounty.gov/clerk-of-courts, phone (740) 432-9230); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at guernseycounty.gov/county-prosecutor, phone (740) 432-9389).
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 Guernsey 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 Guernsey County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Cambridge, Byesville or Senecaville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (740) 432-9389, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Guernsey County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at guernseycounty.gov/clerk-of-courts, phone (740) 432-9230.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at guernseycounty.gov (page title: Public Records Requests | Guernsey County, Ohio).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Guernsey County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the nine cities in Guernsey County: Cambridge, Byesville and Senecaville. Pleasant City, Quaker City, Cumberland, Lore City, Old Washington and Fairview 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 Guernsey County Court of Common Pleas.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Guernsey County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Cambridge (10,036)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Guernsey County each year?
The Guernsey County Sheriff's Office reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,475 between them.
Where are people arrested in Guernsey County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Guernsey County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Guernsey County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Guernsey 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 Guernsey County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Guernsey 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 guernseycounty.gov.
Is this the official Guernsey 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.