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.
Ross County, Ohio, has about 76,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Ross County Sheriff's Office and one city 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 Ross 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: Ross County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Ross County
The Ross County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Ross County. It reported 596 arrests for 2025.
One city in Ross County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Chillicothe, 21,769 residents: 940 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 Ross 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.
- Chillicothe: 940 for 2025, 1,110 for 2024, 1,245 for 2023, 1,209 for 2022, 1,132 for 2021 and 1,590 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Ross County Sheriff's Office: 596 for 2025, 652 for 2024, 562 for 2023, 619 for 2022, 622 for 2021 and 776 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,536 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,536 in 2025 against 1,762 in 2024, down 13 percent.
Through August 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 886 arrests, against 1,121 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Ross County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Ross 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 100 people, down from about 220 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 102 beds, and it ran at 103 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Ross County Sheriff's Office at ross.miamivalleyjails.org (page title: Ross County, Ohio, Sheriff | Persons Currently In Custody), phone (740) 773-1187, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 Ross County
Whether someone was arrested in Ross County, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the Ross County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Ross County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at rosscountyauditor.org/clerk-of-court-case-search, phone 740-702-3080); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at public.chillicothemunicipalcourt.org/attorneys.php, phone (614) 221-8500).
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 Ross 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 Ross County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (740) 773-1187.
- An arrest in Chillicothe: 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, (614) 221-8500, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Ross County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at rosscountyauditor.org, phone 740-702-3080.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.ross.oh.us (page title: Ross County Clerk of Courts | Ross County Ohio).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Ross County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the seven cities in Ross County: Chillicothe. Kingston, Frankfort, Bainbridge, Clarksburg, Adelphi and South Salem 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 Ross County Court of Common Pleas.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Ross County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Chillicothe (21,769)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Ross County each year?
Chillicothe reported 940 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,536 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Ross County?
Look on the custody page of the Ross County Sheriff's Office at ross.miamivalleyjails.org, or call (740) 773-1187. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Ross County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Ross County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Ross County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Ross 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 Ross County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Ross 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 co.ross.oh.us.
Is this the official Ross 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.