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 October 2, 2026.
Big Stone County, Minnesota, has about 5,100 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Big Stone County Sheriff's Office. 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 County Attorney files charges, a case in the Big Stone County District 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: Big Stone County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Big Stone County
The Big Stone County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Big Stone County. It reported 105 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year.
How Many Arrests The Big Stone County Sheriff's Office 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.
- Big Stone County Sheriff's Office: 105 for 2023, 70 for 2022, 69 for 2021 and 80 for 2020.
The Big Stone County Sheriff's Office's 105 arrests in 2023 were up 50 percent from 70 in 2022.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Big Stone County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Big Stone 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 2021 the jail held about 2 people, down from about 2 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 2 beds, and it ran at 100 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 Big Stone County Sheriff's Office at bigstonecounty.gov/departments/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Big Stone County Minnesota), phone (320) 839-3558, 11 SE 2nd Street, Suite 101 Ortonville, MN 56278, Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Big Stone County
Whether someone was arrested in Big Stone County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: 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 bigstonecounty.gov/departments/attorney, phone (320) 487-1206).
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 Big Stone County
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 Big Stone County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (320) 839-3558.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, (320) 487-1206, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Big Stone County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Big Stone County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Big Stone County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Big Stone County each year?
The Big Stone County Sheriff's Office reported 105 arrests to the FBI for 2023, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Big Stone County?
Ask the Big Stone County Sheriff's Office at (320) 839-3558; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at bigstonecounty.gov/departments/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Big Stone County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Big Stone County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Big Stone County?
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 Big Stone County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Big Stone County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act the answer is due promptly, within a reasonable time.
Is this the official Big Stone 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.