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.
Muskegon County, Michigan, has about 177,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office, nine 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 Muskegon 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: Muskegon County public records, Michigan arrest records, Michigan inmate search and Michigan criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Muskegon County
The Muskegon County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Muskegon County. It reported 535 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside nine 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:
- Muskegon, 37,287 residents: 1,708 arrests reported for 2025.
- Muskegon (township), 37,287 residents: 61 arrests reported for 2025.
- Norton Shores, 25,070 residents: 646 arrests reported for 2025.
- Muskegon Heights, 9,806 residents: 621 arrests reported for 2025.
- Roosevelt Park, 4,133 residents: 166 arrests reported for 2025.
- North Muskegon, 4,089 residents: 2 arrests reported for 2023.
- Whitehall, 3,130 residents: 52 arrests reported for 2025.
- Montague, 2,425 residents: 18 arrests reported for 2023.
- Fruitport, 1,165 residents: 202 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 Muskegon County: the Muskegon County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Muskegon County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Muskegon: 1,708 for 2025, 2,333 for 2023, 2,162 for 2022, 1,405 for 2021, 1,636 for 2020 and 2,422 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Norton Shores: 646 for 2025, 372 for 2023, 390 for 2022, 306 for 2021, 260 for 2020 and 428 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Muskegon Heights: 621 for 2025, 216 for 2023, 191 for 2022, 296 for 2021, 252 for 2020 and 347 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Muskegon County Sheriff's Office: 535 for 2025, 393 for 2023, 424 for 2022, 401 for 2021, 485 for 2020 and 517 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Fruitport: 202 for 2025, 243 for 2023, 287 for 2022, 176 for 2021, 173 for 2020 and 272 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Roosevelt Park: 166 for 2025, 293 for 2024, 406 for 2023 and 73 for 2019; 2020, 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Muskegon (township): 61 for 2025, 145 for 2024, 220 for 2023, 153 for 2022, 171 for 2021 and 114 for 2020.
- Whitehall: 52 for 2025, 71 for 2024, 57 for 2023, 42 for 2022, 59 for 2021 and 60 for 2020.
- Montague: 18 for 2023, 12 for 2022, 22 for 2021, 13 for 2020 and 15 for 2019.
- North Muskegon: 2 for 2023, 9 for 2022, 0 for 2021, 1 for 2020 and 5 for 2019.
Together, the eight agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,991 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 279 in 2025 against 509 in 2024, down 45 percent.
Through June 2026, the six agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,638 arrests, against 1,644 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Muskegon County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Muskegon County 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 2023 the jail held about 330 people, down from about 540 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 542 beds, and it ran at 60 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 Muskegon County Sheriff's Office at co.muskegon.mi.us/420/Locate-an-Inmate (page title: Locate an Inmate | Muskegon County, MI), 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 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 Muskegon County
An arrest in Muskegon County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Muskegon County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.muskegon.mi.us/1523/Online-Case-Search); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.muskegon.mi.us/1923/Prosecutor, phone (231) 724-6435).
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 Muskegon 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 Muskegon County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Muskegon, Muskegon (township), Norton Shores, Muskegon Heights, Roosevelt Park, North Muskegon or another of the cities listed above: 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 Muskegon 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) 724-6435, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Muskegon County Circuit Court, through the court records page at co.muskegon.mi.us/1523/Online-Case-Search.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Muskegon County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for nine of the 11 cities in Muskegon County: Muskegon, Muskegon (township), Norton Shores, Muskegon Heights, Roosevelt Park, North Muskegon, Whitehall, Montague and Fruitport. Ravenna, Lakewood Club and Casnovia 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 Muskegon County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Muskegon County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Muskegon Heights (9,806)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Muskegon County each year?
Muskegon reported 1,708 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the eight agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,991 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Muskegon County?
Look on the custody page of the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office at co.muskegon.mi.us/420/Locate-an-Inmate. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Muskegon County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Muskegon 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 Muskegon County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Muskegon 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.
Is this the official Muskegon 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.