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 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Polk County, Oregon, has about 91,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and two 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Polk County Circuit Court. 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: Polk County public records, Oregon arrest records, Oregon inmate search and Oregon criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Polk County
The Polk County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Polk County. It reported 326 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Dallas, 17,911 residents: 350 arrests reported for 2025.
- Monmouth, 11,651 residents: 220 arrests reported for 2025.
- Independence, 10,295 residents: 222 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.
The Salem Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Polk County, so its arrests are not broken out for Polk County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Polk County: the Polk County Liquor Commission (state agency); the Polk County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Polk 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.
- Dallas: 350 for 2025, 390 for 2024, 412 for 2023, 350 for 2022, 322 for 2021 and 376 for 2020.
- Polk County Sheriff's Office: 326 for 2025, 344 for 2024, 357 for 2023, 361 for 2022, 467 for 2021 and 499 for 2020.
- Independence: 222 for 2025, 218 for 2024, 222 for 2023, 203 for 2022, 198 for 2021 and 174 for 2020.
- Monmouth: 220 for 2025, 177 for 2024, 174 for 2023, 120 for 2022, 116 for 2021 and 125 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,118 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,118 in 2025 against 1,129 in 2024, down 1 percent.
Through July 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 769 arrests, against 655 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Polk County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Polk 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 120 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 195 beds, and it ran at 92 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 Polk County Sheriff's Office at polkcountyor.gov/210/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Polk County, OR), phone 503-623-9251, 850 Main St. Dallas, OR 97338, Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Oregon Department of Corrections lists its inmates at oregon.gov/doc/victim-services/pages/offender-search.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Polk County
For Polk County the place to look is the case index of the Polk County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.oregon.gov/courts/polk/records/pages/default.aspx).
Statewide, Oregon eCourt Case Information is the Oregon Judicial Department's online case search, free for basic case information.
Oregon is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: an Open Record Request returns anyone's Oregon conviction record by name, and the subject is told who asked, for $10 a search, through the Oregon State Police. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Polk 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 Oregon Public Records Law the agency must answer within 15 business days where practicable, after acknowledging the request within 5, and it may charge the actual cost of making the record available.
- An arrest by the Polk County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 503-623-9251.
- An arrest in Dallas, Monmouth or Independence: 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 Polk County Liquor Commission or the Polk County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Polk County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courts.oregon.gov.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The other Polk County guides go further: warrants, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Polk County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the four cities in Polk County: Dallas, Monmouth and Independence. Falls City has 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 Polk County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Polk County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Independence (10,295)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Polk County each year?
Dallas reported 350 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,118 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Polk County?
Ask the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 503-623-9251; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at polkcountyor.gov/210/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in Polk County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Polk County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Polk County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Oregon State Police: an Open Record Request returns anyone's Oregon conviction record by name, and the subject is told who asked, for $10. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Oregon Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Polk County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Polk County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Oregon Public Records Law the answer is due within 15 business days where practicable, after acknowledging the request within 5.
Is this the official Polk 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.