SearchSystems Editorial

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 on September 23, 2026.

About this guide

Dakota County, Minnesota, has about 453,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office and 11 city agencies. 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 Dakota 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: Dakota County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Dakota County

The Dakota County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Dakota County. It reported 371 arrests for 2025.

The FBI lists 11 cities in Dakota County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:

  • Lakeville, 77,971 residents: 545 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Eagan, 67,240 residents: 830 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Burnsville, 64,864 residents: 1,010 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Apple Valley, 55,272 residents: 839 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Inver Grove Heights, 36,226 residents: 453 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Rosemount, 30,581 residents: 303 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Farmington, 24,464 residents: 120 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Hastings, 22,502 residents: 457 arrests reported for 2025.
  • West St. Paul, 21,920 residents: 856 arrests reported for 2025.
  • South St. Paul, 20,590 residents: 526 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Mendota Heights, 11,542 residents: 96 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 Northfield Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Dakota County, so its arrests are not broken out for Dakota County here.

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Dakota County

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.

  • Burnsville: 1,010 for 2025, 920 for 2024, 1,013 for 2023, 898 for 2022, 647 for 2021 and 892 for 2020.
  • West St. Paul: 856 for 2025, 720 for 2024, 906 for 2023, 512 for 2022, 881 for 2021 and 1,169 for 2020.
  • Apple Valley: 839 for 2025, 760 for 2024, 799 for 2023, 720 for 2022, 796 for 2021 and 656 for 2020.
  • Eagan: 830 for 2025, 821 for 2024, 1,013 for 2023, 877 for 2022, 983 for 2021 and 1,571 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • Lakeville: 545 for 2025, 613 for 2024, 612 for 2023, 622 for 2022, 633 for 2021 and 1,266 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • South St. Paul: 526 for 2025, 648 for 2024, 569 for 2023, 544 for 2022, 488 for 2021 and 722 for 2020.
  • Hastings: 457 for 2025, 403 for 2024, 454 for 2023, 468 for 2022, 562 for 2021 and 666 for 2020.
  • Inver Grove Heights: 453 for 2025, 641 for 2024, 824 for 2023, 688 for 2022, 752 for 2021 and 818 for 2020.
  • Dakota County Sheriff's Office: 371 for 2025, 302 for 2024, 174 for 2021, 382 for 2020 and 546 for 2019; 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Rosemount: 303 for 2025, 225 for 2024, 270 for 2023, 345 for 2022, 367 for 2021 and 355 for 2020.
  • Farmington: 120 for 2025, 118 for 2024, 189 for 2023, 181 for 2022, 212 for 2021 and 187 for 2020.
  • Mendota Heights: 96 for 2025, 136 for 2024, 159 for 2023, 186 for 2022, 139 for 2021 and 277 for 2020.

Together, the 12 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,406 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 6,406 in 2025 against 6,307 in 2024, up 1.6 percent.

Through September 2026, the nine agencies with every month so far on file reported 3,574 arrests, against 3,792 in the same months of 2025.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Dakota County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dakota 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 180 people, down from about 220 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 263 beds, and it ran at 84 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 Dakota County Sheriff's Office at dakotacountymn.gov/residents/public-safety-justice/jail/inmate-search (page title: Jail Inmate Search), phone 651-377-7188, 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 Dakota County

An arrest in Dakota County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Dakota County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Dakota County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/CaseSearch, phone (651) 793-2400); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at dakotacountymn.gov/government/county-attorney, phone 651-438-4438).

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 Dakota 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 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 Dakota County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 651-377-7188.
  • An arrest in Lakeville, Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount 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.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 651-438-4438, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Dakota County District Court, through the court records page at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/CaseSearch, phone (651) 793-2400.
  • Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Cities in Dakota County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 11 of the 21 cities in Dakota County: Lakeville, Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount, Farmington, Hastings, West St. Paul, South St. Paul and Mendota Heights. Empire, Lilydale, Hampton, Sunfish Lake, Randolph, Vermillion, Mendota, Coates, Miesville and New Trier 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 Dakota County District Court.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Dakota County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Dakota County each year?

Burnsville reported 1,010 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 12 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 6,406 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Dakota County?

Look on the custody page of the Dakota County Sheriff's Office at dakotacountymn.gov, or call 651-377-7188. It covers people booked into the county jail.

Where are people arrested in Dakota County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Dakota 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 Dakota County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Dakota 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 Dakota 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.