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 2023. 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 2, 2026.
Hiawatha, Iowa, in Linn County, has about 7,300 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 Linn 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: Hiawatha public records, Linn County arrest records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Hiawatha
The FBI lists Hiawatha with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Hiawatha Police Department. It reported 44 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year. 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 Linn County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 338 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Linn County: Eastern Iowa Airport Public Safety (other).
How Many Arrests Hiawatha Reports
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.
- Hiawatha: 44 for 2023, 108 for 2022, 104 for 2021 and 174 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Hiawatha's 44 arrests in 2023 were down 59 percent from 108 in 2022.
Across Linn County, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,750 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hiawatha Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hiawatha 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.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 380 people, down from about 390 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 401 beds, and it ran at 94 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 Linn County Sheriff's Office at linncountyiowa.gov/151/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Linn County, IA), phone 319-892-6100, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 Hiawatha
For Hiawatha the place to look is the case index of the Iowa District Court for Linn County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/district-court/judicial-district-6/distr..., phone 319-398-3411).
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 Hiawatha
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 Hiawatha police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at hiawatha-iowa.com/departments/police/faq (page title: Hiawatha Police Departments FAQ's), phone 319-393-1515, 101 Emmons St, Hiawatha, IA 52233, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Linn County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 319-892-6100.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Linn County, through the court records page at iowacourts.gov, phone 319-398-3411.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Linn County guide covers every agency in the county: Linn County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Hiawatha each year?
Hiawatha reported 44 arrests to the FBI for 2023, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Hiawatha?
Ask the Linn County Sheriff's Office at 319-892-6100; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at linncountyiowa.gov/151/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in Hiawatha booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Linn County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Hiawatha?
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 Hiawatha?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hiawatha police for its own arrests, the Linn 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.
Is this the official Hiawatha 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.