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.
Swift County, Minnesota, has about 9,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Swift 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 Swift 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: Swift County public records, Minnesota arrest records, Minnesota inmate search and Minnesota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Swift County
The Swift County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Swift County. It reported 2 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:
- Benson, 3,414 residents: 37 arrests reported for 2025.
- Appleton, 1,352 residents: 12 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 Swift 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.
- Benson: 37 for 2025, 45 for 2024, 30 for 2023, 34 for 2022, 61 for 2021 and 73 for 2020.
- Appleton: 12 for 2025, 18 for 2024, 17 for 2023, 47 for 2022, 43 for 2021 and 91 for 2020.
- Swift County Sheriff's Office: 2 for 2025, 3 for 2024, 34 for 2023, 44 for 2022, 30 for 2021 and 40 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 51 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 51 in 2025 against 66 in 2024, down 23 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 40 arrests, against 31 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Swift County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Swift 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 7 people, up from about 5 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 12 beds, and it ran at 42 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 Swift County Sheriff's Office at swiftcounty.gov/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Swift County, MN), phone 320-843-3133, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Swift County
An arrest in Swift 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 swiftcounty.gov/attorney, phone (320) 843-2134).
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 Swift 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 Swift County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 320-843-3133.
- An arrest in Benson or Appleton: 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) 843-2134, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at swiftcounty.gov/data (page title: Data Requests | Swift County, MN).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cities in Swift County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the eight cities in Swift County: Benson and Appleton. Kerkhoven, Murdock, Clontarf, De Graff, Danvers and Holloway 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 Swift County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Swift County each year?
Benson reported 37 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 51 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Swift County?
Ask the Swift County Sheriff's Office at 320-843-3133; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at swiftcounty.gov/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Swift County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Swift County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Swift 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 Swift County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Swift 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 swiftcounty.gov/data.
Is this the official Swift 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.