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 between September 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Hardin County, Iowa, has about 16,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Hardin County Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. 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 Hardin 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: Hardin County public records, Iowa arrest records, Iowa inmate search and Iowa criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Hardin County
The Hardin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Hardin County. It reported 186 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Iowa Falls, 4,993 residents: 131 arrests reported for 2025.
- Eldora, 2,595 residents: 122 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 Hardin County
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.
- Hardin County Sheriff's Office: 186 for 2025, 213 for 2024, 241 for 2023, 251 for 2022, 244 for 2021 and 195 for 2020.
- Iowa Falls: 131 for 2025, 145 for 2024, 179 for 2023, 178 for 2022, 150 for 2021 and 156 for 2020.
- Eldora: 122 for 2025, 124 for 2024, 174 for 2023, 131 for 2022 and 186 for 2021.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 439 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 439 in 2025 against 482 in 2024, down 8.9 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 234 arrests, against 252 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hardin County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Hardin County 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 53 people, up from about 42 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 90 beds, and it ran at 47 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 Hardin County Sheriff's Office at hardincountyia.gov/jail (page title: Jail | Hardin County | Hardin County), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
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 Hardin County
For Hardin County the place to look is the case index of the Iowa District Court for Hardin County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at iowacourts.state.ia.us/ESAWebApp/SelectFrame).
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 Hardin County
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 Hardin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Iowa Falls or Eldora: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Hardin County, through the court records page at iowacourts.state.ia.us/ESAWebApp/SelectFrame.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Hardin County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the 12 cities in Hardin County: Iowa Falls and Eldora. Ackley, Hubbard, Alden, Radcliffe, Union, Steamboat Rock, New Providence, Whitten, Buckeye and Owasa 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 Hardin County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Hardin County each year?
The Hardin County Sheriff's Office reported 186 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 439 between them.
Where are people arrested in Hardin County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Hardin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Hardin 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 Hardin County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hardin 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 Hardin 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.