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 September 30, 2026.
Zavala County, Texas, has about 9,200 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Zavala County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 Zavala 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: Zavala County public records, Texas arrest records, Texas inmate search and Texas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Zavala County
The Zavala County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Zavala County. It reported 263 arrests for 2025.
One city in Zavala County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Crystal City, 6,009 residents: 32 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Zavala 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.
- Zavala County Sheriff's Office: 263 for 2025, 273 for 2024, 484 for 2023, 519 for 2022 and 373 for 2021.
- Crystal City: 32 for 2024, 39 for 2023, 28 for 2020 and 55 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 305 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 305 in 2024 against 523 in 2023, down 42 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Zavala County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Zavala County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 55 people on an average day, up from about 40 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 66 beds, and it is running at 83 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 Zavala County Sheriff's Office at co.zavala.tx.us/page/Sheriff (page title: Zavala County), phone 830-374-3615, 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 Zavala County
For Zavala County the place to look is the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.zavala.tx.us/page/District%20Attorney, phone 830-773-9268).
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 Zavala 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 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 Zavala County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 830-374-3615.
- An arrest in Crystal City: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 830-773-9268, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in Zavala County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Crystal City, the one city in Zavala County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Zavala County District Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Zavala County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Crystal City (6,009)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Zavala County each year?
The Zavala County Sheriff's Office reported 263 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Zavala County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 305 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Zavala County?
Ask the Zavala County Sheriff's Office at 830-374-3615; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.zavala.tx.us/page/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Zavala County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Zavala County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Zavala 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 Zavala County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Zavala 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 Zavala 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.