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.
Van Wert County, Ohio, has about 29,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Van Wert 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 Van Wert 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: Van Wert County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Van Wert County
The Van Wert County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Van Wert County. It reported 102 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Van Wert County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Van Wert, 11,123 residents: 372 arrests reported for 2024.
- Convoy, 1,002 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 Delphos Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Van Wert County, so its arrests are not broken out for Van Wert County here.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Van Wert 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.
- Van Wert: 372 for 2024, 326 for 2023, 388 for 2022, 439 for 2021, 393 for 2020 and 415 for 2019.
- Van Wert County Sheriff's Office: 102 for 2025, 110 for 2024, 128 for 2023, 153 for 2022, 83 for 2021 and 123 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 482 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 482 in 2024 against 454 in 2023, up 6.2 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Van Wert County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Van Wert 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 42 people, down from about 60 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 82 beds, and it ran at 73 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 Van Wert County Sheriff's Office at vanwertcountyohio.gov/government/sheriff/divisions/correction_divis... (page title: Corrections Division), phone (419) 238-2464, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Van Wert County
Whether someone was arrested in Van Wert County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at vanwertcountyohio.gov/government/courts/common_pleas_court/index.php, phone 419-238-6935); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at vanwertcountyohio.gov/government/prosecutors_office.php, phone (419) 238-0466).
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 Van Wert 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 Van Wert County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (419) 238-2464.
- An arrest in Van Wert or Convoy: 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) 238-0466, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at vanwertcountyohio.gov, phone 419-238-6935.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Van Wert County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the nine cities in Van Wert County: Van Wert and Convoy. Ohio City, Middle Point, Willshire, Scott, Wren, Venedocia and Elgin 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 Van Wert County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Van Wert County each year?
Van Wert reported 372 arrests to the FBI for 2024, and the two agencies with every month of 2024 on file reported 482 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Van Wert County?
Ask the Van Wert County Sheriff's Office at (419) 238-2464; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at vanwertcountyohio.gov.
Where are people arrested in Van Wert County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Van Wert County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Van Wert County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Van Wert 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 Van Wert County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Van Wert 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 Van Wert 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.