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.
Harding County, South Dakota, has about 1,300 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Harding 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 Circuit Court for Harding County. 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: Harding County public records, South Dakota arrest records, South Dakota inmate search and South Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Harding County
The Harding County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Harding County. It reported 6 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests The Harding County Sheriff's Office Reports
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.
- Harding County Sheriff's Office: 6 for 2025, 17 for 2024, 13 for 2020 and 19 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Harding County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Harding 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.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the South Dakota Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/offender-locator.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Harding County
For Harding County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court for Harding County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at ujs.sd.gov/cases-and-records).
Statewide, UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
South Dakota does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Harding 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 South Dakota Open Records Law the agency must answer within 10 business days, and it may charge copying and staff time.
- An arrest by the Harding County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court for Harding County, through the court records page at ujs.sd.gov/cases-and-records.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Division of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in Harding County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Harding 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 Circuit Court for Harding County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Harding County each year?
The Harding County Sheriff's Office reported 6 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Harding County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Harding County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Harding County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Circuit Court for Harding County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the South Dakota Open Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Harding County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Harding County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the South Dakota Open Records Law the answer is due within 10 business days.
Is this the official Harding 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.