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.
Wells County, North Dakota, has about 3,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wells 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 Wells 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: Wells County public records, North Dakota arrest records, North Dakota inmate search and North Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wells County
The Wells County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wells County. It reported 25 arrests for 2025.
One city in Wells County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Harvey, 1,564 residents: 18 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 Wells 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.
- Wells County Sheriff's Office: 25 for 2025, 23 for 2024, 19 for 2023, 24 for 2022, 25 for 2021 and 21 for 2020.
- Harvey: 18 for 2025, 8 for 2024, 6 for 2023, 9 for 2022, 24 for 2021 and 7 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 43 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 43 in 2025 against 31 in 2024.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wells County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Wells County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 19 people, down from about 25 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 36 beds, and it ran at 54 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 Wells County Sheriff's Office at wellscountynd.com/departments/sheriff (page title: Wells County, North Dakota | Departments), phone (701)547-3211, 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 Wells County
An arrest in Wells County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: North Dakota Courts Records Inquiry, the North Dakota courts' free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed; the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at wellscountynd.com/departments/states-attorneys-office, phone (701)547-3885).
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 Wells 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 Wells County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (701)547-3211.
- An arrest in Harvey: 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)547-3885, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in Wells County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the seven cities in Wells County: Harvey. Fessenden, Bowdon, Sykeston, Hurdsfield, Cathay and Hamberg 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 Wells County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wells County each year?
The Wells County Sheriff's Office reported 25 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 43 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wells County?
Ask the Wells County Sheriff's Office at (701)547-3211; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wellscountynd.com/departments/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Wells County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Wells County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wells 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 Wells County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wells 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 Wells 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.