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 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Houston County, Minnesota, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Houston County Sheriff's Office and four 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 Houston 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: Houston County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Houston County
The Houston County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Houston County. It reported 166 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Houston County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- La Crescent, 5,257 residents: 41 arrests reported for 2025.
- Caledonia, 2,767 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2025.
- Houston, 970 residents: 3 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hokah, 535 residents: 0 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 Houston 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.
- Houston County Sheriff's Office: 166 for 2025, 190 for 2024, 216 for 2023, 187 for 2022, 230 for 2021 and 234 for 2020.
- La Crescent: 41 for 2025, 54 for 2024, 79 for 2023, 61 for 2022, 104 for 2021 and 136 for 2020.
- Houston: 3 for 2025, 1 for 2024, 2 for 2023, 2 for 2022, 1 for 2020 and 1 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Hokah: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 0 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 0 for 2021 and 1 for 2020.
- Caledonia: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 0 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 0 for 2021 and 11 for 2020.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 210 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 210 in 2025 against 245 in 2024, down 14 percent.
Through August 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 123 arrests, against 125 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Houston County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Houston County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 28 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 40 beds, and it ran at 70 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 Houston County Sheriff's Office at hocomn.gov/departments/sheriff/index.php (page title: Houston County, MN), phone 507-725-3379, 306 S. Marshall Street - Suite 1100 Caledonia, MN 55921, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Houston County
For Houston County the place to look is Minnesota Court Records Online, the Minnesota Judicial Branch's free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed.
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 Houston 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 Houston County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 507-725-3379.
- An arrest in La Crescent, Caledonia, Houston or Hokah: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Houston County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the seven cities in Houston County: La Crescent, Caledonia, Houston and Hokah. Spring Grove, Brownsville and Eitzen 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 Houston County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Houston County each year?
The Houston County Sheriff's Office reported 166 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 210 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Houston County?
Ask the Houston County Sheriff's Office at 507-725-3379; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hocomn.gov/departments/sheriff/index.php.
Where are people arrested in Houston County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Houston County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Houston 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 Houston County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Houston 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 Houston 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.