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 23, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Columbus, Wisconsin, in Columbia County, has about 5,400 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Columbus is held at the county jail, run by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Columbus public records, Columbia County inmate search, Columbus arrest records, Columbus warrants, Columbus criminal records, Columbus court records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Columbus
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Columbus is held at the county jail, run by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office at co.columbia.wi.us/columbiacounty/sheriff/Sheriffs-Office/Jail-Bookings (page title: Columbia County Sheriff's Office | Jail Bookings), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Columbia County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 140 people, down from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 336 beds, and it ran at 41 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Columbia County has about 58,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 23 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Columbia County Jail
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Columbus (filed by the FBI as Columbus Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Columbus.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Columbia County Sheriff's Office's 1,649 for 2024, Portage's 1,058 for 2025 and Wisconsin Dells's 589 for 2022.
Together, the four agencies in Columbia County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 2,778 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Columbus arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Columbia County serves the sentence in a facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Columbus?
Look on the custody page of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office at co.columbia.wi.us. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Columbia County jail?
About 140 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 336 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Columbia County go?
To a facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
Is this the official Columbus website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.