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.
Union County, South Dakota, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Union County Sheriff's Office and four city agencies. 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 Union 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: Union County public records, South Dakota arrest records, South Dakota inmate search and South Dakota criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Union County
The Union County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Union County. It reported 71 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Union County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- North Sioux City, 3,059 residents: 158 arrests reported for 2025.
- Beresford, 2,087 residents: 73 arrests reported for 2025.
- Elk Point, 2,074 residents: 21 arrests reported for 2025.
- Jefferson, 449 residents: 2 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Union County
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.
- North Sioux City: 158 for 2025, 98 for 2024, 85 for 2023, 83 for 2022, 130 for 2021 and 104 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Beresford: 73 for 2025, 78 for 2024, 64 for 2023, 71 for 2022, 58 for 2021 and 44 for 2020.
- Union County Sheriff's Office: 71 for 2025, 127 for 2024, 127 for 2023, 26 for 2022, 29 for 2021 and 49 for 2020.
- Elk Point: 21 for 2025, 30 for 2024, 30 for 2023, 48 for 2020 and 71 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Jefferson: 2 for 2024 and 8 for 2020; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 323 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 323 in 2025 against 333 in 2024, down 3 percent.
Through June 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 116 arrests, against 106 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Union County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Union 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 35 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 40 beds, and it ran at 88 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 Union County Sheriff's Office at unioncountysd.gov/unioncountysdsheriff/inmates (page title: Inmates | Union County, South Dakota), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
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 Union County
An arrest in Union County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Circuit Court for Union County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at dakotaathome.sd.gov/search/a8ac8af5-881e-580b-8fa8-4a6d98d763ac, phone 605-356-2132); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at unioncountysd.gov/states-attorney/purpose-and-mission, phone (605) 356-2666).
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 Union 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 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 Union County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in North Sioux City, Beresford, Elk Point or Jefferson: 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, (605) 356-2666, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court for Union County, through the court records page at dakotaathome.sd.gov, phone 605-356-2132.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at unioncountysd.gov (page title: RecordsRequest | Union County, South Dakota).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Division of Criminal Investigation.
Cities in Union County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the five cities in Union County: North Sioux City, Beresford, Elk Point and Jefferson. Alcester has 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 Circuit Court for Union County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Union County each year?
North Sioux City reported 158 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 323 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Union County?
Ask the Union County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at unioncountysd.gov.
Where are people arrested in Union County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Union County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Union County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Circuit Court for Union 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 Union County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Union 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at unioncountysd.gov.
Is this the official Union 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.