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.
Jackson County, Minnesota, has about 9,900 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 Jackson 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: Jackson County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Jackson County
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jackson County. It reported 69 arrests for 2025.
One city in Jackson County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Lakefield, 1,710 residents: 2 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 Jackson 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.
- Jackson County Sheriff's Office: 69 for 2025, 67 for 2024, 47 for 2022, 78 for 2021 and 89 for 2019; 2020 and 2023 are missing months.
- Lakefield: 2 for 2025, 3 for 2024, 0 for 2023 and 0 for 2022.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 71 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 71 in 2025 against 70 in 2024, up 1.4 percent.
Through August 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 52 arrests, against 51 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Jackson County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Jackson 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 8 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 18 beds, and it ran at 44 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Jackson County Sheriff's Office), phone 877-654-8463, 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 Jackson County
An arrest in Jackson County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Jackson 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 jacksoncountymn.gov/attorney, phone 507-847-2850).
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 Jackson 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 877-654-8463.
- An arrest in Lakefield: 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, 507-847-2850, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jacksoncountymn.gov (page title: Record | Report Requests | Jackson County, Minnesota).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Jackson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the six cities in Jackson County: Lakefield. Jackson, Heron Lake, Okabena, Alpha and Wilder 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 Jackson County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Jackson County each year?
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office reported 69 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 71 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Jackson County?
Look on the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search, or call 877-654-8463. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Jackson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Jackson 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 Jackson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Jackson 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jacksoncountymn.gov.
Is this the official Jackson 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.