Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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.
Sussex, Wisconsin, in Waukesha County, has about 13,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). 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 Waukesha County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Sussex public records, Waukesha County arrest records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Sussex
The FBI lists no arrest reporting agency under the name of Sussex. In Waukesha County the county agency that reports arrests is the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Sussex Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Sussex 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 2025 the jail held about 470 people, down from about 500 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 807 beds, and it ran at 59 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office at waukeshacounty.gov/sheriff/jail-division/current-inmate-list (page title: Current Inmate List | Waukesha County), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was 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.
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 Sussex
An arrest in Sussex can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Waukesha County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at waukeshacounty.gov/circuit-courts/information-pages/court-record-in...); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at waukeshacounty.gov/district-attorney, phone 262-548-7076).
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 Sussex
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Sussex police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at sussexwi.gov/services/records-reports (page title: Police Records & Reports | Village of Sussex, WI), phone (262) 246-5200, 5070 Sussex Public Safety Building N63 W24335 Main Street Sussex, WI 53076, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 262-548-7076, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Waukesha County Circuit Court, through the court records page at waukeshacounty.gov.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Waukesha County guide covers every agency in the county: Waukesha County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Sussex?
Look on the custody page of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office at waukeshacounty.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Sussex booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Sussex?
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 Sussex?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law the answer is due as soon as practicable and without delay; the law sets no number of days.
Is this the official Sussex 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.