SearchSystems Editorial

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.

About this guide

Stark County, Ohio, has about 374,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Stark County Sheriff's Office, 20 city agencies and four campus, state or other 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 Stark 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: Stark County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Stark County

The Stark County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Stark County. It reported 389 arrests for 2025.

Arrests inside 15 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, the largest twelve first; the rest are named in the cities section below:

  • Canton, 69,211 residents: 2,164 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Massillon, 32,750 residents: 503 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Alliance, 21,523 residents: 702 arrests reported for 2025.
  • North Canton, 17,677 residents: 189 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Louisville, 9,793 residents: 100 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Canal Fulton, 5,382 residents: 62 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Minerva, 3,691 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Hartville, 3,439 residents: 17 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Brewster, 2,104 residents: 44 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Navarre, 1,833 residents: 13 arrests reported for 2025.
  • East Canton, 1,513 residents: 18 arrests reported for 2024.
  • Magnolia, 1,014 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 FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Stark County: the Stark County Park District and Republic N&T Railroad (other); Walsh University and Malone University (campus police).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Stark 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.

  • Canton: 2,164 for 2025, 2,446 for 2024, 2,259 for 2023, 2,425 for 2022, 1,481 for 2021 and 2,056 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • Minerva: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
  • Jackson Township: 853 for 2025, 863 for 2024, 606 for 2023, 604 for 2022, 626 for 2021 and 613 for 2020.
  • Alliance: 702 for 2025, 660 for 2024, 776 for 2023, 959 for 2022, 865 for 2021 and 921 for 2020.
  • Massillon: 503 for 2025, 332 for 2024, 628 for 2021, 546 for 2020 and 476 for 2019; 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Stark County Sheriff's Office: 389 for 2025, 661 for 2023, 700 for 2022, 819 for 2021, 691 for 2020 and 1,312 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
  • North Canton: 189 for 2025, 183 for 2024, 301 for 2022, 263 for 2021, 233 for 2020 and 200 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
  • Louisville: 100 for 2025, 87 for 2024, 106 for 2023, 79 for 2022, 70 for 2020 and 103 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Lawrence Township: 90 for 2025, 118 for 2024, 112 for 2023, 95 for 2022, 99 for 2021 and 75 for 2020.
  • Canal Fulton: 62 for 2025, 60 for 2024, 39 for 2023, 49 for 2022, 84 for 2021 and 51 for 2020.
  • Brewster: 44 for 2025, 33 for 2024, 30 for 2023, 51 for 2022, 32 for 2021 and 26 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • Hartville: 17 for 2025, 14 for 2024, 26 for 2022, 80 for 2020 and 79 for 2019; 2021 and 2023 are missing months.

Together, the 13 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,278 arrests that year. The 11 of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 5,386 in 2025 against 5,628 in 2024, down 4.3 percent.

Through July 2026, the 12 agencies with every month so far on file reported 3,629 arrests, against 3,270 in the same months of 2025.

East Canton, Marlboro Township, Perry Township, Uniontown and one more reported only part of 2025 (10 months, 2 months, 10 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Stark County Are Held

The county jail is where a person arrested in Stark 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 440 people, down from about 490 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 534 beds, and it ran at 83 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

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 Stark County

For Stark County the place to look is the case index of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at probate.co.stark.oh.us/search/search.html).

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 Stark 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 Stark County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
  • An arrest in Canton, Massillon, Alliance, North Canton, Louisville, Canal Fulton or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
  • An arrest by the Stark County Park District, Walsh University or Republic N&T Railroad: the records office of the agency involved.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at probate.co.stark.oh.us/search/search.html.
  • Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.

Cities in Stark County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 15 of the 18 cities in Stark County: the twelve named above and Beach City, Waynesburg and Hills and Dales. East Sparta, Meyers Lake and Wilmot have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Marlboro Township Police Department, the Lawrence Township Police Department, Perry Township Police Department, Stark County and two more as city agencies in Stark County; Marlboro Township, Lawrence Township, Perry Township and two more are not among the cities above.

Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Stark County Court of Common Pleas.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Stark County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Stark County each year?

Canton reported 2,164 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 13 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 6,278 between them.

Where are people arrested in Stark County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Stark County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Stark County?

The court files of criminal cases in the Stark 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 Stark County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Stark 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 Stark 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.