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 October 9, 2026.
DeWitt, Iowa, in Clinton County, has about 5,600 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 Clinton 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: DeWitt public records, Clinton County arrest records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in DeWitt
The FBI lists DeWitt with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as DeWitt Police Department. It reported 71 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 Clinton County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 118 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests DeWitt 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.
- DeWitt: 71 for 2025, 67 for 2024, 79 for 2023, 64 for 2022, 60 for 2021 and 60 for 2020.
DeWitt's 71 arrests in 2025 were up 6 percent from 67 in 2024.
Through August 2026, DeWitt reported 39 arrests, against 50 in the same months of 2025.
Across Clinton County, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 964 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in DeWitt Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in DeWitt 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 2021 the jail held about 65 people, up from about 53 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2018, the last year with a capacity figure, was 44 beds, and it ran at 118 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 Clinton County Sheriff's Office at clintoncounty-ia.gov/sheriff/operations (page title: Operations | Sheriff | Clinton County Government | Iowa), phone 563-242-9211, 241 Seventh Avenue North Clinton, IA 52732, Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Iowa Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in DeWitt
An arrest in DeWitt can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at clintoncounty-ia.gov/courts, phone (563) 243-6213); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at clintoncounty-ia.gov/attorney, phone 563-243-6218).
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 DeWitt
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 DeWitt police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofdewittiowa.org/police (page title: Police Department | DeWitt, Iowa), phone (563) 659-3145, Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 4:00pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 563-242-9211.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 563-243-6218, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, through the court records page at clintoncounty-ia.gov/courts, phone (563) 243-6213.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at ia.iowadot.gov/openrecords (page title: Open Records Request | FOIA).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Clinton County guide covers every agency in the county: Clinton County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in DeWitt each year?
DeWitt reported 71 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in DeWitt?
Ask the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at 563-242-9211; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clintoncounty-ia.gov/sheriff/operations.
Where are people arrested in DeWitt booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in DeWitt?
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 DeWitt?
From the agency that made the arrest: the DeWitt police for its own arrests, the Clinton 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 ia.iowadot.gov/openrecords.
Is this the official DeWitt 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.