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 2, 2026.
Buffalo County, Wisconsin, has about 13,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 Buffalo 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: Buffalo County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Buffalo County
The Buffalo County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Buffalo County. It reported 351 arrests for 2025.
One city in Buffalo County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Mondovi, 2,870 residents: 80 arrests reported for 2024.
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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Buffalo County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Buffalo County Sheriff's Office: 351 for 2025, 274 for 2024, 263 for 2023, 284 for 2022, 150 for 2020 and 325 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Mondovi: 80 for 2024, 47 for 2023 and 22 for 2019; 2020, 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 354 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 354 in 2024 against 310 in 2023, up 14 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Buffalo County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Buffalo 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 19 people, up from about 14 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 26 beds, and it ran at 73 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 Buffalo County Sheriff's Office at buffalocountywi.gov/departments/sheriff/jail (page title: Huber Intake | Buffalo County Resource), phone (608) 685-4433, 407 S. 2nd St Alma, WI 54610, 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 Buffalo County
For Buffalo County the place to look is the case index of the Buffalo 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=xxi&fq=&pager.offset=0).
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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (608) 685-4433.
- An arrest in Mondovi: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Buffalo County Circuit Court, through the court records page at wicourts.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at buffalocountywi.gov (page title: Public Records Request | Buffalo County Government).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Buffalo County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the six cities in Buffalo County: Mondovi. Buffalo City, Fountain City, Alma, Cochrane and Nelson have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Buffalo County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Buffalo County each year?
The Buffalo County Sheriff's Office reported 351 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Buffalo County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 354 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Buffalo County?
Ask the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office at (608) 685-4433; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at buffalocountywi.gov/departments/sheriff/jail.
Where are people arrested in Buffalo County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Buffalo 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 Buffalo County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Buffalo 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at buffalocountywi.gov.
Is this the official Buffalo 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.