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.
Paulding County, Ohio, has about 19,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Paulding 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 Paulding 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: Paulding County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Paulding County
The Paulding County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Paulding County. It reported 162 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four 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:
- Paulding, 3,532 residents: 6 arrests reported for 2025.
- Payne, 1,180 residents.
- Oakwood, 539 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Grover Hill, 380 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 Paulding 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.
- Oakwood: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Grover Hill: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Paulding County Sheriff's Office: 162 for 2025, 152 for 2024, 226 for 2023, 153 for 2022 and 210 for 2020; 2021 is missing months.
- Paulding: 6 for 2025, 12 for 2024, 13 for 2023 and 11 for 2022.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,472 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,472 in 2025 against 2,468 in 2024, up 0.2 percent.
Payne reported only part of 2025 (5 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Paulding County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Paulding 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 18 people, down from about 33 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 52 beds, and it ran at 63 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 Paulding County Sheriff's Office at pauldingohsheriff.com (page title: Paulding County Ohio Sheriff's Office Home Page), phone (419) 399-3791, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Paulding County
For Paulding County the place to look is the case index of the Paulding County Court of Common Pleas, kept by the Clerk of Courts, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at pauldingcountycourt.com (page title: Paulding County Municipal Court), phone (419) 399-5370, belongs to a lower court, not to the Paulding County Court of Common Pleas.
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 Paulding 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 Paulding County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (419) 399-3791.
- An arrest in Paulding, Payne, Oakwood or Grover Hill: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Paulding County Court of Common Pleas it is kept by the Clerk of Courts. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at pauldingcountycourt.com, phone (419) 399-5370, is a lower court's.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at pauldingohsheriff.com/records-request (page title: Paulding County Ohio Sheriff's Department Home Page).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Paulding County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the ten cities in Paulding County: Paulding, Payne, Oakwood and Grover Hill. Antwerp, Melrose, Latty, Haviland, Cecil and Broughton 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 Paulding County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Paulding County each year?
Oakwood reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,472 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Paulding County?
Ask the Paulding County Sheriff's Office at (419) 399-3791; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at pauldingohsheriff.com.
Where are people arrested in Paulding County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Paulding County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Paulding County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Paulding 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 Paulding County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Paulding 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 pauldingohsheriff.com/records-request.
Is this the official Paulding 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.