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 24, 2026.
Cavalier County, North Dakota, has about 3,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Cavalier County Sheriff's Office. 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 State's Attorney files charges, a case in the Cavalier 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: Cavalier County public records, North Dakota arrest records, North Dakota inmate search and North Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Cavalier County
The Cavalier County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Cavalier County. It reported 54 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests The Cavalier County Sheriff's Office Reports
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.
- Cavalier County Sheriff's Office: 54 for 2025, 58 for 2024, 58 for 2023, 56 for 2022, 54 for 2021 and 30 for 2020.
The Cavalier County Sheriff's Office's 54 arrests in 2025 were down 6.9 percent from 58 in 2024.
Through May 2026, Cavalier County Sheriff's Office reported 7 arrests, against 28 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Cavalier County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cavalier 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 2019 the jail held about 1 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 8 beds, and it ran at 12 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at docr.nd.gov/resident-lookup.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Cavalier County
For Cavalier County the place to look is the case index of the Cavalier County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at ndcourts.gov/court-locations/cavalier-county, phone 701-256-2124).
Statewide, North Dakota Courts Records Inquiry is the North Dakota courts' free statewide case search.
North Dakota is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: name-based criminal history records are open to anyone who asks, through the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 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 Cavalier 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 North Dakota Open Records Law the agency must answer within a reasonable time, and it may charge copying, and staff time after the first hour.
- An arrest by the Cavalier County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Cavalier County District Court, through the court records page at ndcourts.gov/court-locations/cavalier-county, phone 701-256-2124.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in Cavalier County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Cavalier County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Cavalier County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Cavalier County each year?
The Cavalier County Sheriff's Office reported 54 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Cavalier County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Cavalier County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Cavalier County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation: name-based criminal history records are open to anyone who asks. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the North Dakota Open Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Cavalier County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Cavalier County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the North Dakota Open Records Law the answer is due within a reasonable time.
Is this the official Cavalier 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.