Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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.
Lafayette County, Wisconsin, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office and four 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 Lafayette County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Lafayette County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Lafayette County
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Lafayette County. It reported 260 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Darlington, 2,482 residents: 106 arrests reported for 2024.
- Shullsburg, 1,230 residents: 1 arrests reported for 2019.
- Blanchardville, 827 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2019.
- Argyle, 818 residents.
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 Cuba City Police Department and the Hazel Green Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Lafayette County, so their arrests are not broken out for Lafayette County here.
Arrest Counts on File for Lafayette County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Lafayette County the counts on file are partial: Argyle, Darlington, Lafayette County Sheriff's Office, Shullsburg and one more have sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Lafayette County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lafayette 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 20 people, down from about 22 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 25 beds, and it ran at 78 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 Lafayette County Sheriff's Office at lcsheriff.com/detention (page title: Detention | Lafayette County Sheriff Office), 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 Lafayette County
For Lafayette County the place to look is Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the free statewide case search of every circuit court, which shows whether charges were filed.
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 Lafayette County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Lafayette County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Darlington, Shullsburg, Blanchardville or Argyle: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Lafayette County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the eight cities in Lafayette County: Darlington, Shullsburg, Blanchardville and Argyle. Belmont, Benton, South Wayne and Gratiot 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 Lafayette County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Lafayette County?
Ask the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lcsheriff.com/detention.
Where are people arrested in Lafayette County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Lafayette 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 Lafayette County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Lafayette 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 Lafayette 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.