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 28, 2026.
Knox County, Ohio, has about 64,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Knox 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 Knox 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: Knox County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Knox County
The Knox County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Knox County. It reported 162 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:
- Mount Vernon, 17,329 residents: 384 arrests reported for 2025.
- Fredericktown, 2,658 residents: 2 arrests reported for 2024.
- Danville, 1,006 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2023.
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 Utica Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Knox County, so its arrests are not broken out for Knox County here.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Knox 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.
- Mount Vernon: 384 for 2025, 160 for 2024, 95 for 2023, 98 for 2022 and 430 for 2019; 2020 and 2021 are missing months.
- Knox County Sheriff's Office: 162 for 2025, 128 for 2024, 93 for 2023, 103 for 2022, 78 for 2021 and 171 for 2020.
- Fredericktown: 2 for 2024, 5 for 2022, 5 for 2020 and 5 for 2019; 2021 and 2023 are missing months.
- Danville: 7 for 2023.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 290 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 288 in 2024 against 188 in 2023, up 53 percent.
Danville reported only part of 2024 (8 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Knox County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Knox 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 87 people, up from about 85 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 100 beds, and it ran at 87 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 Knox County Sheriff's Office at knoxsheriff.org (page title: Knox County Sheriff's Office), phone 888-868-4631, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
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 Knox County
An arrest in Knox County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Knox County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at clerkofcourts.co.knox.oh.us/eservices/home.page.3); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.knox.oh.us/prosecutor/civil-representation, phone 740-393-6720).
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 Knox 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 Knox County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 888-868-4631.
- An arrest in Mount Vernon, Fredericktown or Danville: 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, 740-393-6720, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Knox County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at clerkofcourts.co.knox.oh.us.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Knox County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the seven cities in Knox County: Mount Vernon, Fredericktown and Danville. Gambier, Centerburg, Martinsburg and Gann (Brinkhaven) 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 Knox County Court of Common Pleas.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Knox County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Mount Vernon (17,329)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Knox County each year?
Mount Vernon reported 384 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Knox County sent in full, the three with every month on file reported 290 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Knox County?
Ask the Knox County Sheriff's Office at 888-868-4631; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at knoxsheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Knox County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Knox County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Knox County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Knox 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 Knox County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Knox 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 Knox 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.