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.
Meeker County, Minnesota, has about 23,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Meeker County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Meeker 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: Meeker County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Meeker County
The Meeker County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Meeker County. It reported 119 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two 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:
- Litchfield, 6,515 residents: 71 arrests reported for 2025.
- Eden Valley, 1,068 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 Meeker County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Meeker County Sheriff's Office: 119 for 2025, 115 for 2024, 79 for 2023, 133 for 2022, 166 for 2021 and 155 for 2020.
- Litchfield: 71 for 2025, 74 for 2024, 110 for 2023, 76 for 2022, 75 for 2021 and 85 for 2020.
- Eden Valley: 2 for 2025, 6 for 2024, 7 for 2023, 4 for 2022, 3 for 2021 and 2 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 192 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 192 in 2025 against 195 in 2024, down 1.5 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 129 arrests, against 127 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Meeker County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Meeker 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 30 people, down from about 31 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 29 beds, and it ran at 107 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Meeker County
An arrest in Meeker County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: 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 meekercountymn.gov/166/Attorney, phone (320) 593-0876).
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 Meeker 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 Meeker County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Litchfield or Eden Valley: 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) 593-0876, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at meekercountymn.gov/362/Request (page title: Request | Meeker County, MN).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Meeker County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the nine cities in Meeker County: Litchfield and Eden Valley. Dassel, Watkins, Grove City, Cosmos, Darwin, Kingston and Cedar Mills 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 Meeker County District Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Meeker County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Litchfield (6,515)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Meeker County each year?
The Meeker County Sheriff's Office reported 119 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 192 between them.
Where are people arrested in Meeker County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Meeker County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Meeker 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 Meeker County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Meeker 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 meekercountymn.gov/362/Request.
Is this the official Meeker 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.