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 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
McLean County, North Dakota, has about 9,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the McLean 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 McLean 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: McLean County public records, North Dakota arrest records, North Dakota inmate search and North Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in McLean County
The McLean County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for McLean County. It reported 252 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests The McLean 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.
- McLean County Sheriff's Office: 252 for 2025, 192 for 2024, 291 for 2023, 278 for 2022, 343 for 2021 and 274 for 2020.
The McLean County Sheriff's Office's 252 arrests in 2025 were up 31 percent from 192 in 2024.
Through August 2026, McLean County Sheriff's Office reported 142 arrests, against 156 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in McLean County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in McLean 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 30 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 46 beds, and it ran at 65 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 McLean County Sheriff's Office at mcleancountynd.gov/departments/sheriffs-office (page title: McLean County, North Dakota | Departments), phone (701) 462-8103, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at docr.nd.gov/resident-lookup.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in McLean County
Whether someone was arrested in McLean County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the McLean 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/mclean-county, phone 701-462-8541); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at mcleancountynd.gov/departments/states-attorneys-office, phone (701) 462-8832).
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 McLean 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 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 McLean County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (701) 462-8103.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (701) 462-8832, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the McLean County District Court, through the court records page at ndcourts.gov/court-locations/mclean-county, phone 701-462-8541.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in McLean County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in McLean 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 McLean County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in McLean County each year?
The McLean County Sheriff's Office reported 252 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in McLean County?
Ask the McLean County Sheriff's Office at (701) 462-8103; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mcleancountynd.gov.
Where are people arrested in McLean County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McLean County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in McLean 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 McLean County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the McLean 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 McLean 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.