Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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 October 4, 2026.
Winfield, Indiana, in Lake County, has about 8,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). 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 Lake Circuit and Superior Courts. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Winfield public records, Lake County arrest records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Winfield
The FBI lists no arrest reporting agency under the name of Winfield. In Lake County the county agency that reports arrests is the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Lake County: Indiana University at Northwest (campus police); Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (other).
Booking: Where People Arrested in Winfield Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Winfield 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 2024 the jail held about 890 people, up from about 800 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,050 beds, and it ran at 85 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 Lake County Sheriff's Office at lakecountysheriff.com/page.php?id=30 (page title: Lake County Sheriff | Lake County Sheriff), 2293 N. Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307-1854, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
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 Winfield
Whether someone was arrested in Winfield, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Lake 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/help/mycase); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at lakecountyin.gov/departments/prosecutor, phone 219-755-3720).
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 Winfield
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 Lake County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 219-755-3720, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Lake Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at in.gov/courts/help/mycase.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at lakecountyin.gov (page title: Public Records Request).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Lake County guide covers every agency in the county: Lake County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Winfield?
Ask the Lake County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lakecountysheriff.com/page.php?id=30.
Where are people arrested in Winfield booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Lake County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Winfield?
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 Winfield?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Lake County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at lakecountyin.gov.
Is this the official Winfield 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.