Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026.
Dane County, Wisconsin, has about 588,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Dane County depends on where the incident happened: the Dane County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Wisconsin Public Records Law requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Dane County public records, Dane County arrest records, Dane County warrants, Dane County inmate search, Dane County criminal records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Dane County
A crime, incident or collision report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court, the jail or the prosecutor.
In Dane County that is the Dane County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
The FBI's list also carries the University of Wisconsin at Madison (campus police) and the Capitol Police (state agency), each with a records office of its own.
The Edgerton Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Dane County, so its arrests are not broken out for Dane County here.
Reports from the Dane County Sheriff's Office
The Dane County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 49 violent and 320 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 1,739 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit, reached through the office at (608) 266-4311. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at danesheriff.com/Jail (page title: Jail | Dane County Sheriff's Office), phone (608) 266-4311, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Madison, WI 53703, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Dane County
The 21 cities the FBI lists in Dane County with a reporting agency of their own, the largest twelve first, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Madison: 616 violent and 5,421 property crimes reported for 2025; 8,274 arrests reported for 2025. The Madison police records page is at cityofmadison.com/police/data-records (verified September 25, 2026).
- Madison (town): 183 arrests reported for 2021. The Madison police records page is at cityofmadison.com/police/data-records (verified September 25, 2026).
- Sun Prairie: 56 violent and 428 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,107 arrests reported for 2025. The Sun Prairie police department's page is at cityofsunprairie.com/204/Police, phone 608-837-7339 (verified September 25, 2026).
- Fitchburg: 53 violent and 320 property crimes reported for 2025; 910 arrests reported for 2025.
- Middleton: 25 violent and 202 property crimes reported for 2025; 429 arrests reported for 2025.
- Verona: 5 violent and 53 property crimes reported for 2025; 455 arrests reported for 2025.
- Waunakee: 5 violent and 18 property crimes reported for 2025; 285 arrests reported for 2024.
- Stoughton: 12 violent and 153 property crimes reported for 2025; 282 arrests reported for 2025.
- DeForest: 5 violent and 92 property crimes reported for 2025; 343 arrests reported for 2025.
- Oregon: 4 violent and 49 property crimes reported for 2025; 189 arrests reported for 2025. The Oregon police records page is at oregonwi.gov/286/How-to-Obtain-a-Police-Report, phone 608-835-3111 (verified September 25, 2026).
- McFarland: 4 violent and 60 property crimes reported for 2025; 72 arrests reported for 2025.
- Cottage Grove: 8 violent and 36 property crimes reported for 2025; 221 arrests reported for 2025. The Cottage Grove police records page is at vi.cottagegrove.wi.gov/QuickLinks.aspx?CID=20 (verified September 26, 2026).
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 rest: Monona, Mount Horeb, Cross Plains, Marshall, Belleville, Shorewood Hills, Brooklyn, Maple Bluff and Blue Mounds.
How Many Reports: Dane County in 2025
The 18 agencies in Dane County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 872 violent and 7,446 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the 17 agencies in Dane County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 15,821 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Wisconsin Public Records Law Requires
Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law the agency must answer a request 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. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at danecounty.gov/record-requests (page title: Public Record Requests | Dane County, Wisconsin).
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (608) 266-9150, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Dane County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Dane 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.
How long does an agency in Dane County have to answer?
Under the Wisconsin Public Records Law, as soon as practicable and without delay; the law sets no number of days. It may charge the actual cost of copying and locating, with no charge for the first $50 of locating.
How do I get a report from the Dane County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit, reached through the office at (608) 266-4311. 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 Dane 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.