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 2020. 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.
Winterset, Iowa, in Madison County, has about 5,400 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 Madison 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: Winterset public records, Madison County arrest records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Winterset
The FBI lists Winterset with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Winterset Police Department. It reported 222 arrests for 2020, 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 106 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Winterset 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.
- Winterset: 222 for 2020.
Across Madison County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 108 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Winterset Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Winterset 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 2019 the jail held about 11 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 14 beds, and it ran at 79 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office at sheriffrandytucker.com/madison-county-detention-center (page title: Madison County Detention Center | Madison County Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Winterset
An arrest in Winterset can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Iowa District Court for Madison 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-5/distr..., phone 515-462-4451); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at madisoncounty.iowa.gov/offices/county-attorney, phone (515) 462-5034).
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 Winterset
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 Winterset police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at winterset.gov/m/directory/department?did=10 (page title: Staff Directory, Police), phone 515-462-1423, 1012 N John Wayne Drive P.O. Box 517 Winterset, IA 50273, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Madison County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, (515) 462-5034, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Madison County, through the court records page at iowacourts.gov, phone 515-462-4451.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Madison County guide covers every agency in the county: Madison County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Winterset each year?
Winterset reported 222 arrests to the FBI for 2020, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Winterset?
Ask the Madison County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriffrandytucker.com.
Where are people arrested in Winterset booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Madison County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Winterset?
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 Winterset?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Winterset police for its own arrests, the Madison 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 Winterset 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.