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.
Lavaca County, Texas, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Lavaca County Sheriff's Office, four city agencies and three 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 Lavaca 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: Lavaca County public records, Texas arrest records, Texas inmate search and Texas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Lavaca County
The Lavaca County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Lavaca County. It reported 88 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Lavaca County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Yoakum, 5,875 residents: 24 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hallettsville, 2,745 residents: 85 arrests reported for 2025.
- Shiner, 2,163 residents: 19 arrests reported for 2025.
- Moulton, 858 residents: 1 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 Lavaca County: the Lavaca County Constable's Precincts 3, 2 and 4 (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Lavaca 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.
- Lavaca County Sheriff's Office: 88 for 2025, 41 for 2024, 48 for 2023, 31 for 2022, 44 for 2021 and 32 for 2020.
- Hallettsville: 85 for 2025, 114 for 2024, 152 for 2023, 102 for 2022, 106 for 2021 and 106 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Yoakum: 24 for 2025, 33 for 2024, 26 for 2023, 26 for 2022, 14 for 2021 and 33 for 2020.
- Shiner: 19 for 2025, 32 for 2024, 32 for 2023, 21 for 2022, 32 for 2020 and 53 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Moulton: 1 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 1 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 0 for 2021 and 0 for 2020.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 217 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 217 in 2025 against 220 in 2024, down 1.4 percent.
Through August 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 237 arrests, against 147 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Lavaca County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lavaca 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 36 people on an average day, up from about 24 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 48 beds, and it is running at 75 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lavaca County Sheriff's Office at co.lavaca.tx.us/page/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Lavaca County, Texas), phone 361-798-2121, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice lists its inmates at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Lavaca County
For Lavaca County the place to look is the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.lavaca.tx.us/page/County.Attorney, phone 361-798-4757).
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 Lavaca 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 Lavaca County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 361-798-2121.
- An arrest in Yoakum, Hallettsville, Shiner or Moulton: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Lavaca County Constable's Precincts 3, 2 and 4: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 361-798-4757, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in Lavaca County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Lavaca County: Yoakum, Hallettsville, Shiner and Moulton.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Lavaca County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Lavaca County each year?
The Lavaca County Sheriff's Office reported 88 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 217 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Lavaca County?
Ask the Lavaca County Sheriff's Office at 361-798-2121; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.lavaca.tx.us/page/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Lavaca County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Lavaca County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Lavaca 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 Lavaca County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Lavaca 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.
Is this the official Lavaca 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.