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.
Fillmore County, Minnesota, has about 22,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office and three 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 Fillmore 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: Fillmore County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Fillmore County
The Fillmore County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Fillmore County. It reported 27 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Chatfield, 3,023 residents: 4 arrests reported for 2025.
- Rushford, 1,852 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2025.
- Preston, 1,316 residents: 8 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Fillmore County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Fillmore County Sheriff's Office: 27 for 2025, 29 for 2024, 34 for 2023, 31 for 2022, 26 for 2021 and 44 for 2020.
- Preston: 8 for 2025, 10 for 2024, 25 for 2023, 4 for 2022, 6 for 2021 and 2 for 2020.
- Chatfield: 4 for 2025, 8 for 2024, 4 for 2023 and 5 for 2022.
- Rushford: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 0 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 0 for 2021 and 0 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 39 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 39 in 2025 against 47 in 2024, down 17 percent.
Through August 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 23 arrests, against 29 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Fillmore County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Fillmore 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 2023 the jail held about 11 people, up from about 11 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 20 beds, and it ran at 55 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 Fillmore County Sheriff's Office at co.fillmore.mn.us/departments/sheriff/jail/current_inmate_jail_rost... (page title: Fillmore County, MN), phone 507-765-3874, 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 Fillmore County
Whether someone was arrested in Fillmore County, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the Fillmore 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 co.fillmore.mn.us/departments/attorney/index.php, phone 507-765-2530).
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 Fillmore 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 Fillmore County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 507-765-3874.
- An arrest in Chatfield, Rushford or Preston: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 507-765-2530, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Fillmore County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the 14 cities in Fillmore County: Chatfield, Rushford and Preston. Spring Valley, Harmony, Rushford Village, Lanesboro, Mabel, Wykoff, Fountain, Canton, Peterson, Ostrander and Whalan 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 Fillmore County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Fillmore County each year?
The Fillmore County Sheriff's Office reported 27 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 39 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Fillmore County?
Look on the custody page of the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office at co.fillmore.mn.us, or call 507-765-3874. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Fillmore County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Fillmore 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 Fillmore County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Fillmore 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 Fillmore 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.