Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.
Porter County, Indiana, has about 176,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Porter County depends on where the incident happened: the Porter County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Indiana Access to Public Records Act requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Porter County public records, Porter County arrest records, Porter County warrants, Porter County inmate search, Porter County criminal records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Porter County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In Porter County that is the Porter County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
Reports from the Porter County Sheriff's Office
The Porter County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 46 violent and 125 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 765 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at portercountysheriff.com/whosinjail (page title: Who's In Jail | Porter County Sheriff’s Office IN), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Porter County
The eight cities the FBI lists in Porter County with a reporting agency of their own:
- Portage: 97 violent and 439 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,410 arrests reported for 2025.
- Valparaiso: 45 violent and 293 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,138 arrests reported for 2025.
- Chesterton: 13 violent and 73 property crimes reported for 2025; 307 arrests reported for 2025.
- Porter: 1 violent and 17 property crimes reported for 2025; 81 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hebron: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Burns Harbor.
- Kouts.
- Ogden Dunes: 21 arrests reported for 2020.
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 Reports: Porter County in 2025
The five agencies in Porter County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 202 violent and 947 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the six agencies in Porter County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,853 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Indiana Access to Public Records Act Requires
Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act the agency must answer a request 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. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 219-465-3415, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Porter County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Porter 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.
How long does an agency in Porter County have to answer?
Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email. It may charge a copy fee set by the agency, within statutory limits.
How do I get a report from the Porter County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. 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 Porter 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.