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.
Jefferson County, Ohio, has about 64,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and 18 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 Jefferson 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: Jefferson County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Jefferson County
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jefferson County. It reported 102 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside 14 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, the largest twelve first; the rest are named in the cities section below:
- Steubenville, 18,029 residents: 602 arrests reported for 2025.
- Toronto, 5,187 residents: 35 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wintersville, 3,672 residents: 33 arrests reported for 2025.
- Mingo Junction, 3,250 residents: 82 arrests reported for 2019.
- Tiltonsville, 1,220 residents.
- Yorkville, 937 residents.
- Adena, 648 residents.
- Dillonvale, 597 residents.
- Bergholz, 524 residents.
- Amsterdam, 425 residents.
- Richmond, 401 residents.
- Rayland, 382 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.
Arrest Counts on File for Jefferson County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Jefferson County the counts on file are partial: Smithfield Township, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Mingo Junction, Steubenville and 15 more have sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Jefferson County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Jefferson 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 100 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 132 beds, and it ran at 78 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Steubenville, Toronto, Wintersville, Mingo Junction, Tiltonsville, Yorkville or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Jefferson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 14 of the 18 cities in Jefferson County: the twelve named above and Mount Pleasant and Empire. Irondale, Stratton, New Alexandria and Bloomingdale have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Smithfield Township Police Department, the Cross Creek Township Police Department, the Saline Township Police Department and one more as city agencies in Jefferson County; Smithfield Township, Cross Creek Township, Saline Township and one more are 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 Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are people arrested in Jefferson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Jefferson County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Jefferson 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 Jefferson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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.