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 30, 2026.
Ransom County, North Dakota, has about 5,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Ransom 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 Ransom 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: Ransom County public records, North Dakota arrest records, North Dakota inmate search and North Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Ransom County
The Ransom County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Ransom County. It reported 39 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Ransom County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Lisbon, 2,175 residents: 25 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 Ransom 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.
- Ransom County Sheriff's Office: 39 for 2025, 32 for 2024, 43 for 2023, 27 for 2022, 25 for 2021 and 35 for 2020.
- Lisbon: 25 for 2025, 18 for 2024, 7 for 2023, 10 for 2022, 15 for 2021 and 7 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 64 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 64 in 2025 against 50 in 2024, up 28 percent.
Through August 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 35 arrests, against 40 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Ransom County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Ransom 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 Ransom County Sheriff's Office at ransomcountynd.net/sheriff-911-coordinator (page title: Sheriff | Ransom County North Dakota), phone 701-680-0060, Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Ransom County
Whether someone was arrested in Ransom County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Ransom County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at ransomcountynd.net/clerk-of-court, phone (701) 683-6120); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at ransomcountynd.net/states-attorney, phone (701) 683-4123).
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 Ransom 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 Ransom County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 701-680-0060.
- An arrest in Lisbon: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (701) 683-4123, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Ransom County District Court, through the court records page at ransomcountynd.net/clerk-of-court, phone (701) 683-6120.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in Ransom County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the five cities in Ransom County: Lisbon. Enderlin, Fort Ransom, Sheldon and Elliott 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 Ransom County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Ransom County each year?
The Ransom County Sheriff's Office reported 39 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 64 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Ransom County?
Ask the Ransom County Sheriff's Office at 701-680-0060; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at ransomcountynd.net/sheriff-911-coordinator.
Where are people arrested in Ransom County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Ransom County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Ransom 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 Ransom County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Ransom 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 Ransom 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.