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.
Richland County, Ohio, has about 125,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Richland County Sheriff's Office, seven city agencies and one campus agency. 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 Richland 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: Richland County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Richland County
The Richland County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Richland County. It reported 1,193 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists seven cities in Richland County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Mansfield, 47,593 residents: 2,278 arrests reported for 2025.
- Shelby, 9,238 residents: 457 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ontario, 6,648 residents: 255 arrests reported for 2024.
- Lexington, 4,832 residents: 101 arrests reported for 2023.
- Bellville, 1,995 residents: 63 arrests reported for 2025.
- Plymouth, 1,691 residents.
- Butler, 938 residents.
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 Crestline Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Richland County, so its arrests are not broken out for Richland County here.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Richland County: Ohio State University at Mansfield (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Richland 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.
- Mansfield: 2,278 for 2025, 2,606 for 2024, 3,104 for 2023, 2,963 for 2022, 3,022 for 2021 and 3,503 for 2020.
- Richland County Sheriff's Office: 1,193 for 2025, 1,316 for 2024, 1,690 for 2023, 1,587 for 2022, 1,686 for 2021 and 1,457 for 2020.
- Shelby: 457 for 2025, 415 for 2024, 394 for 2023, 323 for 2022, 308 for 2021 and 360 for 2020.
- Ontario: 255 for 2024, 243 for 2023, 286 for 2021, 306 for 2020 and 424 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Bellville: 63 for 2025, 45 for 2024, 79 for 2023, 77 for 2022, 95 for 2021 and 64 for 2020.
- Lexington: 101 for 2023, 58 for 2022, 105 for 2021, 65 for 2020 and 72 for 2019.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 4,637 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 4,637 in 2024 against 5,510 in 2023, down 16 percent.
Lexington and Plymouth reported only part of 2024 (10 months and 7 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Richland County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Richland 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 200 people, down from about 280 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 234 beds, and it ran at 86 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 Richland County
For Richland County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at richlandcountyoh.gov/departments/prosecutorsoffice, phone 419-774-5676).
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 Richland 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 Richland County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Mansfield, Shelby, Ontario, Lexington, Bellville, Plymouth or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Ohio State University at Mansfield: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 419-774-5676, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Richland County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for seven of the nine cities in Richland County: Mansfield, Shelby, Ontario, Lexington, Bellville, Plymouth and Butler. Shiloh and Lucas 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 Richland County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Richland County each year?
Mansfield reported 2,278 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Richland County sent in full, the five with every month on file reported 4,637 between them.
Where are people arrested in Richland County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Richland County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Richland County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Richland 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 Richland County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Richland 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 Richland 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.