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 2025. 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 1, 2026.
Fairmont, Minnesota, in Martin County, has about 10,000 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 County Attorney files charges, a case in the Martin County District 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: Fairmont public records, Martin County arrest records, Minnesota arrest records and Minnesota inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Fairmont
The FBI lists Fairmont with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Fairmont Police Department. It reported 378 arrests for 2025. 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 Martin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 37 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Fairmont 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.
- Fairmont: 378 for 2025, 295 for 2024, 327 for 2023, 430 for 2022, 336 for 2021 and 396 for 2020.
Fairmont's 378 arrests in 2025 were up 28 percent from 295 in 2024.
Through September 2026, Fairmont reported 235 arrests, against 268 in the same months of 2025.
Across Martin County, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 331 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Fairmont Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Fairmont 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 2020 the jail held about 21 people, down from about 31 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 26 beds, and it ran at 119 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 Martin County Sheriff's Office at co.martin.mn.us/your_government/departments/sheriff/index.php (page title: Martin County), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Fairmont
Whether someone was arrested in Fairmont, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Martin County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.martin.mn.us/your_government/district_court/law_library.php, phone 507-432-7014); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.martin.mn.us/your_government/departments/county_attorney/faqs.php, phone (800) 292-4152).
Statewide, Minnesota Court Records Online is the Minnesota Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
Minnesota is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the public criminal history search online is free and shows 15 years of convictions, through the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. 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 Fairmont
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act the agency must answer promptly, within a reasonable time, and it may charge copying, and staff time for requests over 100 pages.
- An arrest by the Fairmont police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at dakotacountysheriff.org/minnesota/police-department/fairmont-police... (page title: Fairmont Police Department), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
- An arrest by the Martin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, (800) 292-4152, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Martin County District Court, through the court records page at co.martin.mn.us, phone 507-432-7014.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The Martin County guide covers every agency in the county: Martin County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Fairmont each year?
Fairmont reported 378 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Fairmont?
Ask the Martin County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.martin.mn.us.
Where are people arrested in Fairmont booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Martin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Fairmont?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension: the public criminal history search online is free and shows 15 years of convictions. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Fairmont?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Fairmont police for its own arrests, the Martin County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act the answer is due promptly, within a reasonable time.
Is this the official Fairmont 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.