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.
Williams County, Ohio, has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Williams County Sheriff's Office and six 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 Williams 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: Williams County public records, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Williams County
The Williams County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Williams County. It reported 40 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists six cities in Williams County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Bryan, 8,601 residents: 276 arrests reported for 2025.
- Montpelier, 3,884 residents: 69 arrests reported for 2025.
- Edgerton, 1,874 residents: 2 arrests reported for 2025.
- West Unity, 1,731 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Pioneer, 1,407 residents: 10 arrests reported for 2025.
- Stryker, 1,238 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Williams 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.
- West Unity: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Bryan: 276 for 2025 and 252 for 2024.
- Montpelier: 69 for 2025, 90 for 2024, 94 for 2023, 96 for 2022, 78 for 2021 and 75 for 2020.
- Williams County Sheriff's Office: 40 for 2025 and 42 for 2024.
- Pioneer: 10 for 2025, 17 for 2024, 9 for 2023, 14 for 2022, 9 for 2021 and 11 for 2020.
- Edgerton: 2 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,549 arrests that year. The five of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,547 in 2025 against 1,553 in 2024, down 0.4 percent.
Through July 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 808 arrests, against 890 in the same months of 2025.
Stryker reported only part of 2025 (1 month) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Williams County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Williams 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 140 people, down from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 175 beds, and it ran at 79 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 Williams County
An arrest in Williams County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Williams County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at williamscountyoh.gov/769/Domestic-and-General-Courts-Records-Sear, phone 419-636-1551); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at williamscountyoh.gov/332/Prosecutors-Office, phone 419-636-4411).
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 Williams 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 Williams County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Bryan, Montpelier, Edgerton, West Unity, Pioneer or Stryker: 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, 419-636-4411, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Williams County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at williamscountyoh.gov, phone 419-636-1551.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Williams County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the nine cities in Williams County: Bryan, Montpelier, Edgerton, West Unity, Pioneer and Stryker. Edon, Blakeslee and Holiday City 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 Williams County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Williams County each year?
West Unity reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,549 between them.
Where are people arrested in Williams County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Williams County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Williams County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Williams 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 Williams County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Williams 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 Williams 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.