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.
Renville County, Minnesota, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Renville County Sheriff's Office and five 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 Renville 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: Renville County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Renville County
The Renville County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Renville County. It reported 150 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists five cities in Renville County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Olivia, 2,306 residents: 37 arrests reported for 2025.
- Renville, 1,271 residents: 14 arrests reported for 2025.
- Fairfax, 1,217 residents: 9 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hector, 994 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2025.
- Buffalo Lake, 641 residents: 7 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 Renville 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.
- Renville County Sheriff's Office: 150 for 2025, 115 for 2024, 168 for 2023, 144 for 2022, 130 for 2021 and 239 for 2020.
- Olivia: 37 for 2025, 41 for 2024, 53 for 2023, 44 for 2022, 32 for 2021 and 112 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Renville: 14 for 2025, 13 for 2024, 9 for 2023, 15 for 2022, 8 for 2021 and 6 for 2020.
- Fairfax: 9 for 2025, 5 for 2024, 3 for 2023, 1 for 2022, 3 for 2021 and 8 for 2020.
- Buffalo Lake: 7 for 2025, 5 for 2024, 4 for 2023, 9 for 2022, 7 for 2021 and 8 for 2020.
- Hector: 7 for 2025, 14 for 2024, 15 for 2023, 2 for 2022, 17 for 2021 and 23 for 2020.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 224 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 224 in 2025 against 193 in 2024, up 16 percent.
Through July 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 114 arrests, against 117 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Renville County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Renville 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 2021 the jail held about 22 people, down from about 50 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 65 beds, and it ran at 77 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 Renville County Sheriff's Office at renvillecountymn.gov/sheriff/public-awareness/inmate-list (page title: Inmate List | Renville County), phone 320-523-1161, 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 Renville County
An arrest in Renville County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Renville 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 renvillecountymn.gov/attorney, phone 320-523-2661).
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 Renville 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 Renville County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 320-523-1161.
- An arrest in Olivia, Renville, Fairfax, Hector or Buffalo Lake: 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, 320-523-2661, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Renville County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for five of the ten cities in Renville County: Olivia, Renville, Fairfax, Hector and Buffalo Lake. Bird Island, Franklin, Sacred Heart, Danube and Morton 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 Renville County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Renville County each year?
The Renville County Sheriff's Office reported 150 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 224 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Renville County?
Look on the custody page of the Renville County Sheriff's Office at renvillecountymn.gov, or call 320-523-1161. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Renville County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Renville County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Renville 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 Renville County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Renville 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 Renville 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.