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 on September 23, 2026.
Adams County, Wisconsin, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Adams County Sheriff's Office and two 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Adams County Circuit Court. 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: Adams County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Adams County
The Adams County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Adams County. It reported 491 arrests for 2025.
One city in Adams County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Adams, 1,771 residents: 90 arrests reported for 2025.
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.
The Wisconsin Dells Police Department is listed by the FBI across four counties including Adams County, so its arrests are not broken out for Adams County here.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Adams 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.
- Adams County Sheriff's Office: 491 for 2025, 585 for 2023, 528 for 2022, 492 for 2021 and 926 for 2019; 2020 and 2024 are missing months.
- Adams: 90 for 2025, 127 for 2024, 163 for 2022, 85 for 2021 and 127 for 2019; 2020 and 2023 are missing months.
- Rome Town: 112 for 2024, 179 for 2023, 111 for 2022, 84 for 2021, 170 for 2020 and 160 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 581 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 90 in 2025 against 127 in 2024, down 29 percent.
Rome Town reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Adams County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Adams 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 2025 the jail held about 29 people, down from about 58 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 108 beds, and it ran at 27 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Wisconsin Department of Corrections lists its inmates at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Adams County
An arrest in Adams County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Adams County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at wicourts.gov/SearchWicourts?q=wide&fq=&pager.offset=0); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.adams.wi.us/departments/district-attorney, phone (608) 339-4217).
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 Adams County
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 Adams County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Adams: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (608) 339-4217, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Adams County Circuit Court, through the court records page at wicourts.gov.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Adams County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in Adams County: Adams. Friendship has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Rome Town Police Department as a city agency in Adams County; Rome Town is not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Adams County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Adams County each year?
The Adams County Sheriff's Office reported 491 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 581 between them.
Where are people arrested in Adams County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Adams County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Adams County?
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 Adams County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Adams 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 Adams 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.