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 October 2, 2026.
La Crosse County, Wisconsin, has about 121,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from La Crosse County depends on where the incident happened: the La Crosse 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: La Crosse County public records, La Crosse County arrest records, La Crosse County warrants, La Crosse County inmate search, La Crosse County criminal records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from La Crosse County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In La Crosse County that is the La Crosse 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 La Crosse (campus police), with a records office of its own.
Reports from the La Crosse County Sheriff's Office
The La Crosse County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 18 violent and 87 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 738 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at lacrossecounty.org/sheriff/sheriff/inmate (page title: Inmate Locator | Sheriff | La Crosse County), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
Reports from the City Agencies in La Crosse County
The five cities the FBI lists in La Crosse County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- La Crosse: 217 violent and 1,766 property crimes reported for 2025; 4,985 arrests reported for 2025.
- Onalaska: 11 violent and 409 property crimes reported for 2025; 502 arrests reported for 2025.
- Holmen: 4 violent and 47 property crimes reported for 2025; 358 arrests reported for 2024.
- West Salem: 4 violent and 32 property crimes reported for 2025; 240 arrests reported for 2025. The West Salem police records page is at westsalemwi.gov/police/records, phone 608-786-1858 (verified September 26, 2026).
- Bangor: 39 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 Reports: La Crosse County in 2025
The six agencies in La Crosse County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 256 violent and 2,368 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the five agencies in La Crosse County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 5,628 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Wisconsin Public Records Law Requires
The Wisconsin Public Records Law sets the rules: an answer as soon as practicable and without delay; the law sets no number of days, at a charge of the actual cost of copying and locating, with no charge for the first $50 of locating, from the agency that holds the report.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in La Crosse County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the La Crosse 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 La Crosse 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 La Crosse County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. 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 La Crosse 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.