Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 September 30, 2026.
Burlington, Iowa, in Des Moines County, has about 24,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the County Attorney files charges, a case in the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Burlington public records, Des Moines County arrest records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Burlington
The FBI lists Burlington with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Burlington Police Department. It reported 843 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 546 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Des Moines County: Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force Burlington (other).
How Many Arrests Burlington Reports
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.
- Burlington: 843 for 2025, 938 for 2024, 1,056 for 2023, 1,134 for 2022, 1,221 for 2021 and 969 for 2020.
Burlington's 843 arrests in 2025 were down 10 percent from 938 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Burlington reported 634 arrests, against 563 in the same months of 2025.
Across Des Moines County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,722 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Burlington Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Burlington 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.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 75 people, down from about 90 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 68 beds, and it ran at 110 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 Des Moines County Sheriff's Office at desmoinescounty.iowa.gov/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Des Moines County Government | Iowa), phone 319-753-8212, 512 N. Main St. Burlington, IA 52601, Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Iowa Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Burlington
Whether someone was arrested in Burlington, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at iowacourts.gov/for-the-public/public-records-requests); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at desmoinescounty.iowa.gov/attorney, phone 319-753-8209).
Statewide, Iowa Courts Online is the Iowa Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
Iowa is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can request a name-based criminal history check online, through the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 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 Burlington
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 Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22) the agency must answer without delay; the law sets no fixed number of days, and a delay past 20 days must be justified, and it may charge the actual cost of copying and retrieval.
- An arrest by the Burlington police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at burlingtoniowa.org/2414/Request-Open-Records (page title: Request Open Records | Burlington, IA), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 319-753-8212.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 319-753-8209, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, through the court records page at iowacourts.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at iowacourts.gov (page title: Public Records Requests | Iowa Judicial Branch).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Des Moines County guide covers every agency in the county: Des Moines County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Burlington each year?
Burlington reported 843 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Burlington?
Ask the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office at 319-753-8212; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at desmoinescounty.iowa.gov/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Burlington booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Burlington?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation: anyone can request a name-based criminal history check online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Burlington?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Burlington police for its own arrests, the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22) the answer is due without delay; the law sets no fixed number of days, and a delay past 20 days must be justified; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at iowacourts.gov.
Is this the official Burlington website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.