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 26, 2026.
Storm Lake, Iowa, in Buena Vista County, has about 12,000 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 Buena Vista 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: Storm Lake public records, Buena Vista County arrest records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Storm Lake
The FBI lists Storm Lake with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Storm Lake Police Department. It reported 528 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 Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 93 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Storm Lake 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.
- Storm Lake: 528 for 2025, 503 for 2024, 610 for 2023, 549 for 2022, 505 for 2021 and 470 for 2020.
Storm Lake's 528 arrests in 2025 were up 5 percent from 503 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Storm Lake reported 305 arrests, against 331 in the same months of 2025.
Across Buena Vista County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 621 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Storm Lake Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Storm Lake 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 17 people, down from about 22 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 65 beds, and it ran at 34 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 Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office at bvsheriff.com/divisions/jail (page title: Jail | Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office), phone (712) 749-2530, 411 Expansion Blvd, Storm Lake, IA 50588, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Storm Lake
For Storm Lake the place to look is the case index of the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista 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-3/distr..., phone 712-749-2546).
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 Storm Lake
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 Storm Lake police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at stormlake.org/815/Public-Records (page title: Public Records | Storm Lake, IA), phone 712-732-8000, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (712) 749-2530.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County, through the court records page at iowacourts.gov, phone 712-749-2546.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Buena Vista County guide covers every agency in the county: Buena Vista County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Storm Lake each year?
Storm Lake reported 528 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Storm Lake?
Ask the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office at (712) 749-2530; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at bvsheriff.com/divisions/jail.
Where are people arrested in Storm Lake booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Storm Lake?
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 Storm Lake?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Storm Lake police for its own arrests, the Buena Vista 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 Storm Lake 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.