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.
Martin County, Minnesota, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Martin 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 Martin 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: Martin County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Martin County
The Martin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Martin County. It reported 37 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Martin County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Fairmont, 10,176 residents: 378 arrests reported for 2025.
- Sherburn, 1,050 residents: 11 arrests reported for 2024.
- Trimont, 689 residents: 2 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Martin 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.
- Fairmont: 378 for 2025, 295 for 2024, 327 for 2023, 430 for 2022, 336 for 2021 and 396 for 2020.
- Martin County Sheriff's Office: 37 for 2025, 23 for 2024, 28 for 2023, 36 for 2022, 40 for 2021 and 37 for 2020.
- Sherburn: 11 for 2024 and 5 for 2022; 2023 is missing months.
- Trimont: 2 for 2024.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 331 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 318 in 2024 against 355 in 2023, down 10 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Martin County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Martin 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 2020 the jail held about 21 people, down from about 31 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 26 beds, and it ran at 119 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 Martin County Sheriff's Office at co.martin.mn.us/your_government/departments/sheriff/index.php (page title: Martin County), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Martin County
An arrest in Martin County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Martin County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.martin.mn.us/your_government/district_court/law_library.php, phone 507-432-7014); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.martin.mn.us/your_government/departments/county_attorney/faqs.php, phone (800) 292-4152).
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 Martin 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 Martin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Fairmont, Sherburn or Trimont: 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, (800) 292-4152, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Martin County District Court, through the court records page at co.martin.mn.us, phone 507-432-7014.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Martin County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the nine cities in Martin County: Fairmont, Sherburn and Trimont. Truman, Welcome, Ceylon, Granada, Northrop and Dunnell 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 Martin County District Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Martin County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Fairmont (10,176)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Martin County each year?
Fairmont reported 378 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Martin County sent in full, the four with every month on file reported 331 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Martin County?
Ask the Martin County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.martin.mn.us.
Where are people arrested in Martin County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Martin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Martin 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 Martin County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Martin 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 Martin 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.