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 September 30, 2026.
Jackson County, Ohio, has about 33,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and four 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 Jackson 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: Jackson County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Jackson County
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jackson County. It reported 60 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Jackson County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Jackson, 6,226 residents: 192 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wellston, 5,493 residents: 37 arrests reported for 2025.
- Oak Hill, 1,404 residents: 3 arrests reported for 2021.
- Coalton, 444 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 Jackson County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Coalton: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Jackson: 192 for 2025, 279 for 2024, 326 for 2023, 323 for 2022, 334 for 2021 and 252 for 2020.
- Jackson County Sheriff's Office: 60 for 2025, 93 for 2024, 64 for 2023, 37 for 2022, 66 for 2021 and 59 for 2020.
- Wellston: 37 for 2025, 41 for 2024, 51 for 2023, 67 for 2022, 86 for 2021 and 69 for 2020.
- Oak Hill: 3 for 2021 and 31 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,441 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,441 in 2025 against 1,565 in 2024, down 7.9 percent.
Through August 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 862 arrests, against 953 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Jackson County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Jackson 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 51 people, down from about 55 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 40 beds, and it ran at 138 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Jackson County Sheriff's Office), phone 877-654-8463, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 Jackson County
Whether someone was arrested in Jackson County, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Jackson County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at jcclerk.com/page2.html, phone 740-286-2006); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jacksoncountyohio.us/elected-officials/prosecuting-attorney, phone (740) 286-5006).
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 Jackson 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 877-654-8463.
- An arrest in Jackson, Wellston, Oak Hill or Coalton: 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, (740) 286-5006, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Jackson County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at jcclerk.com/page2.html, phone 740-286-2006.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Jackson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Jackson County: Jackson, Wellston, Oak Hill and Coalton.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Jackson County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Jackson County each year?
Coalton reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,441 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Jackson County?
Look on the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search, or call 877-654-8463. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Jackson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Jackson County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Jackson 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 Jackson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Jackson 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 Jackson 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.