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 9, 2026.
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, in Milwaukee County, has about 49,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wauwatosa is held at the county jail, run by the Milwaukee 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: Wauwatosa public records, Milwaukee County inmate search, Wauwatosa arrest records, Wauwatosa warrants, Wauwatosa criminal records, Wauwatosa court records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Wauwatosa
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wauwatosa is held at the county jail, run by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office at incustodysearch.milwaukeecountywi.gov (page title: Milwaukee County Sheriff | In Custody Locator), 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 Milwaukee County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 2,170 people, up from about 1,930 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 2,738 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Milwaukee County has about 925,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 23 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Milwaukee County Jail
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Wauwatosa (filed by the FBI as Wauwatosa Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Wauwatosa.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Milwaukee County: the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and Marquette University (campus police); the State Fair Park Police (state agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Milwaukee's 12,488 for 2025, West Allis's 2,959 for 2025 and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office's 2,392 for 2025.
Together, the 20 agencies in Milwaukee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 28,168 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 Wauwatosa 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 Milwaukee 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 Wauwatosa?
Look on the custody page of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office at incustodysearch.milwaukeecountywi.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Milwaukee County jail?
About 2,170 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 2,738 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Milwaukee 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 Wauwatosa 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.