Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 September 25, 2026.
Janesville, Wisconsin, in Rock County, has about 66,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Rock County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Janesville public records, Rock County arrest records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Janesville
The FBI lists Janesville with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Janesville Police Department. It reported 3,504 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Rock County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,573 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Janesville 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.
- Janesville: 3,504 for 2025, 3,562 for 2024, 3,472 for 2023, 3,436 for 2022, 3,113 for 2021 and 2,650 for 2020.
Janesville's 3,504 arrests in 2025 were down 1.6 percent from 3,562 in 2024.
Through March 2026, Janesville reported 851 arrests, against 782 in the same months of 2025.
Across Rock County, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,739 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Janesville Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Janesville 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 2025 the jail held about 360 people, down from about 440 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 505 beds, and it ran at 71 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 Rock County Sheriff's Office at co.rock.wi.us/departments/sheriff-s-office/jail (page title: Jail | Rock County, WI), phone 608-757-8000, 200 East US Highway 14 Janesville, WI 53545, Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 3:00 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Janesville
An arrest in Janesville can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Rock County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us/departments/circuit-court, phone 608-757-5785); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.rock.wi.us/departments/district-attorney, phone (608) 757-5615).
Statewide, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access is the free statewide case search of every circuit court.
Wisconsin is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Wisconsin Online Record Check System lets anyone run a name-based check, through the Wisconsin Department of Justice. 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 Janesville
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 Wisconsin Public Records Law the agency must answer as soon as practicable and without delay; the law sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying and locating, with no charge for the first $50 of locating.
- An arrest by the Janesville police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at janesvillewi.gov/departments-services/police (page title: Police | Janesville, WI), phone (608) 755-3100, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Rock County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 608-757-8000.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (608) 757-5615, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Rock County Circuit Court, through the court records page at co.rock.wi.us/departments/circuit-court, phone 608-757-5785.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us (page title: Public Records Requests | Rock County, WI).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Rock County guide covers every agency in the county: Rock County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Janesville each year?
Janesville reported 3,504 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Janesville?
Ask the Rock County Sheriff's Office at 608-757-8000; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us.
Where are people arrested in Janesville booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Rock County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Janesville?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Wisconsin Department of Justice: the Wisconsin Online Record Check System lets anyone run a name-based check. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Wisconsin Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Janesville?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Janesville police for its own arrests, the Rock County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law the answer is due as soon as practicable and without delay; the law sets no number of days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us.
Is this the official Janesville 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.