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. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 28, 2026.
Foster County, North Dakota, has about 3,300 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Foster County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 Foster 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: Foster County public records, North Dakota arrest records, North Dakota inmate search and North Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Foster County
The Foster County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Foster County. It reported 8 arrests for 2025.
One city in Foster County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Carrington, 2,019 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 Foster 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.
- Carrington: 12 for 2025, 18 for 2024, 24 for 2023, 42 for 2022, 34 for 2021 and 52 for 2020.
- Foster County Sheriff's Office: 8 for 2025, 3 for 2024, 3 for 2023, 7 for 2022, 8 for 2021 and 3 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 20 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 20 in 2025 against 21 in 2024.
Through May 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 7 arrests, against 10 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Foster County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Foster 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.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Foster County Sheriff's Office at fostercounty.com/sheriffs-office (page title: Sheriff's Office), phone (701) 652-2251, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
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 Foster County
For Foster County the place to look is North Dakota Courts Records Inquiry, the North Dakota courts' free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed.
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 Foster 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 Foster County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (701) 652-2251.
- An arrest in Carrington: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at casscountynd.gov (page title: Open Records Request | Cass County, ND).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in Foster County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the four cities in Foster County: Carrington. Glenfield, McHenry and Grace City 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 Foster County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Foster County each year?
Carrington reported 12 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 20 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Foster County?
Ask the Foster County Sheriff's Office at (701) 652-2251; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at fostercounty.com/sheriffs-office.
Where are people arrested in Foster County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Foster County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Foster 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 Foster County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Foster 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at casscountynd.gov.
Is this the official Foster 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.