Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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 on September 24, 2026.
Buena Vista County, Iowa, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. An arrest 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 each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Buena Vista County public records, Iowa arrest records, Iowa inmate search and Iowa criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Buena Vista County
The Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Buena Vista County. It reported 93 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Buena Vista County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Storm Lake, 11,627 residents: 528 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Buena Vista County
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.
- Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office: 93 for 2025, 119 for 2024, 135 for 2023, 120 for 2021, 106 for 2020 and 125 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 621 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 621 in 2025 against 622 in 2024, down 0.2 percent.
Through August 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 365 arrests, against 393 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Buena Vista County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Buena Vista County 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 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 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 Buena Vista County
For Buena Vista County 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 Buena Vista County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (712) 749-2530.
- An arrest in Storm Lake: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- 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.
Cities in Buena Vista County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the ten cities in Buena Vista County: Storm Lake. Alta, Newell, Sioux Rapids, Lakeside, Albert City, Marathon, Rembrandt, Linn Grove and Truesdale have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Buena Vista County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Storm Lake (11,627)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Buena Vista County each year?
Storm Lake reported 528 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 621 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Buena Vista County?
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 Buena Vista County 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 Buena Vista County?
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 Buena Vista County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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 Buena Vista County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.