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.
Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, has about 82,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office and six 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 Manitowoc 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: Manitowoc County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Manitowoc County
The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Manitowoc County. It reported 826 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside six 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:
- Manitowoc, 34,616 residents: 2,236 arrests reported for 2024.
- Two Rivers, 11,214 residents: 558 arrests reported for 2025.
- Kiel, 3,975 residents: 166 arrests reported for 2025.
- Cleveland, 1,581 residents: 170 arrests reported for 2019.
- Mishicot, 1,423 residents: 34 arrests reported for 2024.
- Reedsville, 1,193 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Manitowoc 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.
- Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office: 826 for 2025, 931 for 2024, 1,074 for 2023, 1,056 for 2022, 1,054 for 2021 and 948 for 2020.
- Two Rivers: 558 for 2025, 528 for 2024, 538 for 2023, 504 for 2022, 626 for 2021 and 657 for 2020.
- Kiel: 166 for 2025, 180 for 2024, 184 for 2023, 213 for 2022, 218 for 2021 and 220 for 2020.
- Manitowoc: 2,236 for 2024, 2,079 for 2022, 2,041 for 2021 and 2,655 for 2019; 2020 and 2023 are missing months.
- Cleveland: 170 for 2019.
- Mishicot: 34 for 2024, 25 for 2021, 58 for 2020 and 60 for 2019; 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,550 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,550 in 2025 against 1,639 in 2024, down 5.4 percent.
Through March 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 371 arrests, against 388 in the same months of 2025.
Manitowoc and Mishicot reported only part of 2025 (11 months and 10 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Manitowoc County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Manitowoc 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 140 people, down from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 199 beds, and it ran at 71 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 Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office at manitowoccountywi.gov/departments/sheriff/directory (page title: Directory | Manitowoc County), phone (920)683-4200, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
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 Manitowoc County
Whether someone was arrested in Manitowoc County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Manitowoc County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at manitowoccountywi.gov/departments/clerk-of-circuit-court/court-offi..., phone (920) 683-4030); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at manitowoccountywi.gov/departments/district-attorney, phone 920-683-4070).
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 Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (920)683-4200.
- An arrest in Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Kiel, Cleveland, Mishicot or Reedsville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 920-683-4070, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Manitowoc County Circuit Court, through the court records page at manitowoccountywi.gov, phone (920) 683-4030.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Manitowoc County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the 12 cities in Manitowoc County: Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Kiel, Cleveland, Mishicot and Reedsville. Valders, Whitelaw, St. Nazianz, Francis Creek, Maribel and Kellnersville 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 Manitowoc County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Manitowoc County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Two Rivers (11,214)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Manitowoc County each year?
The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office reported 826 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,550 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Manitowoc County?
Ask the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office at (920)683-4200; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at manitowoccountywi.gov.
Where are people arrested in Manitowoc County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc 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.