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.
Morrow County, Ohio, has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Morrow County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Morrow 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: Morrow County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Morrow County
The Morrow County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Morrow County. It reported 48 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
Arrests inside two 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 Gilead, 3,543 residents: 27 arrests reported for 2024.
- Cardington, 2,203 residents: 1 arrests reported for 2019.
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 Morrow 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.
- Morrow County Sheriff's Office: 48 for 2024, 61 for 2023, 53 for 2022, 48 for 2021, 75 for 2020 and 70 for 2019.
- Mount Gilead: 27 for 2024, 37 for 2023 and 33 for 2022.
- Cardington: 1 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 75 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 75 in 2024 against 98 in 2023, down 23 percent.
Cardington reported only part of 2024 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Morrow County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Morrow 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 110 people, down from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 126 beds, and it ran at 107 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 Morrow County Sheriff's Office at morrowcountysheriff.com/correctional-facility (page title: Correctional Facility | Morrow County Sheriff Office), phone 002-345-6789, wed 7 days a week and times: 8am - 11am, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
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 Morrow County
An arrest in Morrow County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Morrow County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at morrowcountyohio.gov/government/clerk_of_courts/index.php, phone (419) 947-2085); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at morrowcountyohio.gov/government/prosecutor/county-prosecutor.php, phone 419-947-5515).
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 Morrow 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 Morrow County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 002-345-6789.
- An arrest in Mount Gilead or Cardington: 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, 419-947-5515, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Morrow County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at morrowcountyohio.gov, phone (419) 947-2085.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at morrowcountyohio.gov (page title: Morrow County, OH).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Morrow County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the seven cities in Morrow County: Mount Gilead and Cardington. Edison, Marengo, Fulton, Chesterville and Sparta 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 Morrow County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Morrow County each year?
The Morrow County Sheriff's Office reported 48 arrests to the FBI for 2024, and the two agencies with every month of 2024 on file reported 75 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Morrow County?
Ask the Morrow County Sheriff's Office at 002-345-6789; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at morrowcountysheriff.com/correctional-facility.
Where are people arrested in Morrow County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Morrow County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Morrow County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Morrow 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 Morrow County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Morrow 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 morrowcountyohio.gov.
Is this the official Morrow 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.