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 between September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026.

About this guide

Jefferson County, Texas, has about 254,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, five city agencies and nine 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 Jefferson County District 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: Jefferson County public records, Texas arrest records, Texas inmate search and Texas criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Jefferson County

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jefferson County. It reported 364 arrests for 2025.

The FBI lists five cities in Jefferson County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:

  • Beaumont, 112,893 residents: 2,930 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Port Arthur, 55,799 residents: 1,520 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Nederland, 18,168 residents: 313 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Groves, 16,866 residents: 391 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Port Neches, 13,709 residents: 225 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 FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Jefferson County: the Beaumont Independent School District, the Jefferson County Constable's Precincts 1, 2, 4, 7, 6 and 8 and the Port of Beaumont (other); Lamar University at Beaumont (campus police).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Jefferson 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.

  • Beaumont: 2,930 for 2025, 3,125 for 2024, 5,648 for 2023, 5,766 for 2022, 4,890 for 2021 and 5,676 for 2020.
  • Port Arthur: 1,520 for 2025, 1,355 for 2024, 1,406 for 2023, 1,213 for 2022, 1,137 for 2021 and 1,457 for 2020.
  • Groves: 391 for 2025, 255 for 2024, 223 for 2023, 237 for 2022, 436 for 2021 and 489 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: 364 for 2025, 446 for 2024, 907 for 2023, 410 for 2022, 316 for 2021 and 1,214 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • Nederland: 313 for 2025, 290 for 2024, 253 for 2023, 211 for 2022, 229 for 2021 and 193 for 2020.
  • Port Neches: 225 for 2025, 235 for 2024, 229 for 2023, 207 for 2022, 200 for 2021 and 191 for 2020.

Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,743 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 5,743 in 2025 against 5,706 in 2024, up 0.6 percent.

Through August 2026, the six agencies with every month so far on file reported 4,142 arrests, against 3,908 in the same months of 2025.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Jefferson County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Jefferson 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.

So far in 2026 the jail has held about 1,240 people on an average day, up from about 1,080 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 1,764 beds, and it is running at 70 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.jeffersoncountytx.gov/inmateSearch (page title: Inmate Search | Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office TX), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 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 person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, whose inmate locator is at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.

How to Find Out About an Arrest in Jefferson County

An arrest in Jefferson County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Jefferson County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at jeffersoncountytx.gov/dclerk/criminal_index/main.htm); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jeffersoncountytx.gov/DA/da_main.htm, phone (409) 835-8550).

Texas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Conviction Database search lets anyone look up convictions and deferred adjudications by name, for $3 a search, through the Texas Department of Public Safety. 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 Jefferson 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 Texas Public Information Act the agency must answer within 10 business days, and it may charge the copy rates set by the Attorney General, plus labor for large requests.

  • An arrest by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
  • An arrest in Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves or Port Neches: 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 Beaumont Independent School District, the Jefferson County Constable's Precincts 1, 2, 4, 7, 6 and 8 or Lamar University at Beaumont: the records office of the agency involved.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (409) 835-8550, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Jefferson County District Court, through the court records page at jeffersoncountytx.gov.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jeffersoncounty.nextrequest.com (page title: Public Record RequestsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
  • Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.

Cities in Jefferson County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for five of the nine cities in Jefferson County: Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves and Port Neches. China, Bevil Oaks, Nome and Taylor Landing 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 Jefferson County District Court.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County each year?

Beaumont reported 2,930 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 5,743 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Jefferson County?

Look on the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.jeffersoncountytx.gov/inmateSearch. It covers people booked into the county jail.

Where are people arrested in Jefferson County booked?

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

Are arrest records public in Jefferson County?

The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Texas Department of Public Safety: the Conviction Database search lets anyone look up convictions and deferred adjudications by name, for $3. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Texas Public Information Act.

How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Jefferson County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Texas Public Information Act the answer is due within 10 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jeffersoncounty.nextrequest.com.

Is this the official Jefferson 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.