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 2, 2026.
North Branch, Minnesota, in Chisago County, has about 12,000 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 Chisago 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: North Branch public records, Chisago County arrest records, Minnesota arrest records and Minnesota inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in North Branch
The FBI lists North Branch with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as North Branch Police Department. It reported 61 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 Chisago County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 376 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests North Branch 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.
- North Branch: 61 for 2024, 78 for 2023, 137 for 2022, 110 for 2021, 158 for 2020 and 351 for 2019.
North Branch's 61 arrests in 2024 were down 22 percent from 78 in 2023.
Across Chisago County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 539 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in North Branch Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in North Branch 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 2021 the jail held about 33 people, down from about 60 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 80 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 custody page of the Chisago County Sheriff's Office at inmatelocator.chisagocountymn.gov/inmatelocator (page title: Chisago County Inmate Locator), phone 600 182 5587, 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.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in North Branch
Whether someone was arrested in North Branch, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the Chisago County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; Minnesota Court Records Online, the Minnesota Judicial Branch's free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed; the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at chisagocountymn.gov/159/County-Attorney, phone 651-213-8400).
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 North Branch
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 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 North Branch police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at northbranchmn.gov/229/Law-Enforcement-Data-Requests (page title: Law Enforcement Data Requests | North Branch, MN), phone 651-674-8848, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Chisago County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 600 182 5587.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 651-213-8400, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The Chisago County guide covers every agency in the county: Chisago County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in North Branch each year?
North Branch reported 61 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in North Branch?
Look on the custody page of the Chisago County Sheriff's Office at inmatelocator.chisagocountymn.gov, or call 600 182 5587. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in North Branch booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Chisago County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in North Branch?
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 North Branch?
From the agency that made the arrest: the North Branch police for its own arrests, the Chisago 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 North Branch 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.