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 on September 24, 2026.
McIntosh County, North Dakota, has about 2,500 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the McIntosh 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 McIntosh 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: McIntosh County public records, North Dakota arrest records, North Dakota inmate search and North Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in McIntosh County
The McIntosh County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for McIntosh County. It reported 12 arrests for 2025.
One city in McIntosh County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Wishek, 830 residents: 5 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 McIntosh 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.
- McIntosh County Sheriff's Office: 12 for 2025, 18 for 2024, 50 for 2023, 31 for 2022, 21 for 2021 and 15 for 2020.
- Wishek: 5 for 2025, 7 for 2024, 11 for 2023, 10 for 2022, 14 for 2021 and 23 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 17 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 17 in 2025 against 25 in 2024.
Through April 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 13 arrests, against 4 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in McIntosh County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in McIntosh 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 McIntosh County Sheriff's Office at mcintoshnd.com/emergency-services/sheriff-911 (page title: Sheriff | 911 | McIntosh County, North Dakota), phone 701-288-5160, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 McIntosh County
For McIntosh 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 McIntosh 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 McIntosh County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 701-288-5160.
- An arrest in Wishek: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in McIntosh County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the five cities in McIntosh County: Wishek. Ashley, Zeeland, Lehr and Venturia 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 McIntosh County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in McIntosh County each year?
The McIntosh County Sheriff's Office reported 12 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 17 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in McIntosh County?
Ask the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office at 701-288-5160; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mcintoshnd.com/emergency-services/sheriff-911.
Where are people arrested in McIntosh County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in McIntosh 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 McIntosh County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the McIntosh 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 McIntosh 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.