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 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Emmet County, Michigan, has about 34,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Emmet County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and one state agency. 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Emmet County Circuit Court. 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: Emmet County public records, Michigan arrest records, Michigan inmate search and Michigan criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Emmet County
The Emmet County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Emmet County. It reported 313 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Petoskey, 5,810 residents: 164 arrests reported for 2025.
- Harbor Springs, 1,262 residents: 9 arrests reported for 2025.
- Mackinaw City, 840 residents: 34 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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Emmet County: the Emmet County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Emmet 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.
- Emmet County Sheriff's Office: 313 for 2025, 398 for 2024, 339 for 2023, 277 for 2022, 220 for 2021 and 313 for 2020.
- Petoskey: 164 for 2025, 161 for 2024, 171 for 2023, 127 for 2022, 137 for 2021 and 111 for 2020.
- Mackinaw City: 34 for 2025, 59 for 2024, 52 for 2023, 51 for 2022, 35 for 2021 and 42 for 2020.
- Harbor Springs: 9 for 2025, 17 for 2024, 6 for 2023, 13 for 2022, 4 for 2021 and 12 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 520 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 520 in 2025 against 635 in 2024, down 18 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 280 arrests, against 305 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Emmet County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Emmet County 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 2019 the jail held about 77 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 103 beds, and it ran at 75 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 Emmet County Sheriff's Office at emmetcounty.org/government/sheriffs_office/index.php (page title: Sheriff's Office | Emmet County, MI), phone (231) 347-2032, 450 Bay Street, Petoskey, MI 49770, Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Emmet County
Whether someone was arrested in Emmet County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Emmet County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at emmetcounty.org/government/courts/90th_district_court/index.php, phone 231-348-1750); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at emmetcounty.org/government/courts/prosecuting_attorney_s_office/ind..., phone 231-348-1725).
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 Emmet 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 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 Emmet County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (231) 347-2032.
- An arrest in Petoskey, Harbor Springs or Mackinaw City: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by the Emmet County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 231-348-1725, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Emmet County Circuit Court, through the court records page at emmetcounty.org, phone 231-348-1750.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at emmetcounty.org (page title: FOIA Office).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Emmet County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the five cities in Emmet County: Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Mackinaw City. Pellston and Alanson 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 Emmet County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Emmet County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Petoskey (5,810)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Emmet County each year?
The Emmet County Sheriff's Office reported 313 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 520 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Emmet County?
Ask the Emmet County Sheriff's Office at (231) 347-2032; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at emmetcounty.org.
Where are people arrested in Emmet County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Emmet County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Emmet County?
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 Emmet County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Emmet County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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 emmetcounty.org.
Is this the official Emmet 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.