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 October 4, 2026.
Holland, Michigan, in Ottawa County, has about 35,000 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 Ottawa County Circuit Court. 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: Holland public records, Ottawa County arrest records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Holland
The FBI lists Holland with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Holland Police Department. It reported 659 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 Ottawa County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 2,780 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Ottawa County: Grand Valley State University (campus police); the Ottawa County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Holland 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.
- Holland: 659 for 2024, 637 for 2023, 650 for 2022, 577 for 2021, 634 for 2020 and 872 for 2019.
Holland's 659 arrests in 2024 were up 3.5 percent from 637 in 2023.
Across Ottawa County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,935 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Holland Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Holland 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 2023 the jail held about 290 people, down from about 320 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 462 beds, and it ran at 63 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 Ottawa County Sheriff's Office at miottawa.org/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Ottawa County, MI), phone (616) 738-4000, 12220 Fillmore St West Olive, MI 49460, Monday 8:00am to 5:00pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Michigan Department of Corrections lists its inmates at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Holland
An arrest in Holland can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Ottawa County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.michigan.gov/search/?searchQuery=ottawa+county); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at miottawa.org/department/prosecuting-attorney).
Statewide, MiCOURT Case Search is the Michigan courts' statewide case search; not every court has joined.
Michigan is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: ICHAT lets anyone search public criminal history by name, for $10 a search, through the Michigan 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 Holland
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 Michigan Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, with a 10-day extension, and it may charge labor and copying, at rates the law caps.
- An arrest by the Holland police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at cityofholland.com/680/Record-Requests-FOIA (page title: Police Records and Reports | Holland, MI), phone 616.355.1109, 89 W 8th St Holland, MI 49423, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (616) 738-4000.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Ottawa County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courts.michigan.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at miottawa.org (page title: Search & Request Records | Ottawa County, MI).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Ottawa County guide covers every agency in the county: Ottawa County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Holland each year?
Holland reported 659 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Holland?
Ask the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office at (616) 738-4000; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at miottawa.org/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Holland booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Holland?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Michigan State Police: ICHAT lets anyone search public criminal history by name, for $10. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Holland?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Holland police for its own arrests, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days, with a 10-day extension; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at miottawa.org.
Is this the official Holland 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.