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 2024. 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 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Michigan City, Indiana, in LaPorte County, has about 31,000 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the LaPorte Circuit and Superior Courts. 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: Michigan City public records, LaPorte County arrest records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Michigan City
The FBI lists Michigan City with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Michigan City Police Department. It reported 1,504 arrests for 2024, 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 La Porte County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 950 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in LaPorte County: the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (state agency); La Porte Metro Operations Drug Task Force (other).
How Many Arrests Michigan City Reports
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.
- Michigan City: 1,504 for 2024, 1,723 for 2022, 1,397 for 2021, 1,247 for 2020 and 1,295 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
Across LaPorte County, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,077 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Michigan City Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Michigan City 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 2024 the jail held about 350 people, down from about 380 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 367 beds, and it ran at 104 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the La Porte County Sheriff's Office at laportecountysheriff.com/inmate-information (page title: Inmate Information | La Porte County Sheriff's Office), phone 219.362.6548, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Indiana Department of Correction, whose inmate locator is at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Michigan City
Whether someone was arrested in Michigan City, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the La Porte County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the LaPorte Circuit and Superior Courts, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at in.gov/courts/local/laporte-county); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at laporteco.in.gov/courts-services/prosecuting-attorney, phone 219-326-6808).
Statewide, mycase.IN.gov is the Indiana courts' free statewide case search.
Indiana is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online, through the Indiana State Police. 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 Michigan City
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act the agency must answer within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email, and it may charge a copy fee set by the agency, within statutory limits.
- An arrest by the Michigan City police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at police.michigancityin.gov/divisions/division-of-professional-standards (page title: Division of Professional Standards | Michigan City Police Department), phone (219) 874-3221, 1201 E Michigan Blvd, Michigan City, IN 46360, Monday - Thursday from 8:00 AM - 4:30 AM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the La Porte County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 219.362.6548.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 219-326-6808, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the LaPorte Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at in.gov/courts/local/laporte-county.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The LaPorte County guide covers every agency in the county: LaPorte County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Michigan City each year?
Michigan City reported 1,504 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Michigan City?
Look on the custody page of the La Porte County Sheriff's Office at laportecountysheriff.com/inmate-information, or call 219.362.6548. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Michigan City booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the La Porte County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Michigan City?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Indiana State Police: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Michigan City?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Michigan City police for its own arrests, the La Porte County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act the answer is due within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email.
Is this the official Michigan City 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.