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.
McLeod County, Minnesota, has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the McLeod 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 McLeod 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: McLeod County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in McLeod County
The McLeod County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for McLeod County. It reported 515 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in McLeod County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Hutchinson, 14,708 residents: 272 arrests reported for 2025.
- Glencoe, 5,659 residents: 65 arrests reported for 2024.
- Winsted, 2,221 residents: 41 arrests reported for 2025.
- Brownton, 706 residents: 6 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 McLeod 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.
- McLeod County Sheriff's Office: 515 for 2025, 586 for 2024, 609 for 2023, 648 for 2022, 743 for 2021 and 349 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Hutchinson: 272 for 2025, 304 for 2024, 277 for 2023, 238 for 2022, 307 for 2021 and 298 for 2020.
- Winsted: 41 for 2025, 30 for 2024, 28 for 2023, 28 for 2022, 41 for 2021 and 58 for 2020.
- Brownton: 6 for 2025, 7 for 2024, 11 for 2023, 3 for 2022, 13 for 2021 and 8 for 2020.
- Glencoe: 65 for 2024, 76 for 2023, 76 for 2022, 87 for 2021, 165 for 2020 and 150 for 2019.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 834 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 834 in 2025 against 927 in 2024, down 10 percent.
Through August 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 454 arrests, against 563 in the same months of 2025.
Glencoe reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in McLeod County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in McLeod 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 21 people, down from about 35 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 59 beds, and it ran at 59 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 McLeod County Sheriff's Office at mcleodcountymn.gov/government/sheriff_s_office/jail_information/in_... (page title: McLeod County, MN), 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 McLeod County
An arrest in McLeod County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the McLeod 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 mcleodcountymn.gov/government/attorney/index.php, phone 320-864-1265).
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 McLeod 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 McLeod County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Hutchinson, Glencoe, Winsted or Brownton: 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, 320-864-1265, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at mcleodcountymn.gov (page title: McLeod County, MN).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in McLeod County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the nine cities in McLeod County: Hutchinson, Glencoe, Winsted and Brownton. Lester Prairie, Silver Lake, Stewart, Plato and Biscay 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 McLeod County District Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in McLeod County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Hutchinson (14,708)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in McLeod County each year?
The McLeod County Sheriff's Office reported 515 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 834 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in McLeod County?
Look on the custody page of the McLeod County Sheriff's Office at mcleodcountymn.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in McLeod County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McLeod County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in McLeod 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 McLeod County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the McLeod 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 mcleodcountymn.gov.
Is this the official McLeod 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.