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 25, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Owatonna, Minnesota, in Steele County, has about 27,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Owatonna is held at the county jail, run by the Steele County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people and common questions.
Related guides: Owatonna public records, Steele County inmate search, Owatonna arrest records, Owatonna warrants, Owatonna criminal records, Owatonna court records, Minnesota arrest records and Minnesota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Owatonna
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Owatonna is held at the county jail, run by the Steele County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Steele County Sheriff's Office at steelecountymn.gov/search.php?q=Inmate+Roster (page title: Steele County, MN), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone 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.
The Steele County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 28 people, down from about 52 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 86 beds, and it ran at 60 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Steele County has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 8 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Steele County Jail
The Steele County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Owatonna (filed by the FBI as Owatonna Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Owatonna.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Owatonna's 367 for 2025, the Steele County Sheriff's Office's 113 for 2025 and Blooming Prairie's 13 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Steele County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 493 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Owatonna arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Owatonna?
Look on the custody page of the Steele County Sheriff's Office at steelecountymn.gov/search.php?q=Inmate+Roster. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Steele County jail?
About 28 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 86 beds.
Is this the official Owatonna 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.