SearchSystems Editorial

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.

About this guide

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, has about 925,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, 19 city agencies and three campus, state or other 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 Milwaukee 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: Milwaukee County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Milwaukee County

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Milwaukee County. It reported 2,392 arrests for 2025.

Arrests inside 19 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, the largest twelve first; the rest are named in the cities section below:

  • Milwaukee, 563,531 residents: 12,488 arrests reported for 2025.
  • West Allis, 59,784 residents: 2,959 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Wauwatosa, 48,794 residents: 1,370 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Oak Creek, 38,373 residents: 1,410 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Greenfield, 37,232 residents: 1,413 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Franklin, 36,591 residents: 630 arrests reported for 2025.
  • South Milwaukee, 20,233 residents: 603 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Cudahy, 17,704 residents: 714 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Whitefish Bay, 14,532 residents: 192 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Greendale, 14,455 residents: 464 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Glendale, 14,381 residents: 1,228 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Shorewood, 13,521 residents: 178 arrests reported for 2025.

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 FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Milwaukee County: the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and Marquette University (campus police); the State Fair Park Police (state agency).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Milwaukee County

The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.

  • Milwaukee: 12,488 for 2025, 12,044 for 2024, 11,769 for 2023, 9,685 for 2022, 11,216 for 2021 and 11,003 for 2020.
  • West Allis: 2,959 for 2025, 3,338 for 2024, 3,822 for 2023, 3,731 for 2022, 3,370 for 2021 and 3,747 for 2020.
  • Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office: 2,392 for 2025, 1,975 for 2024, 1,988 for 2023, 1,328 for 2022, 1,382 for 2021 and 1,395 for 2020.
  • Greenfield: 1,413 for 2025, 1,205 for 2024, 1,465 for 2023, 1,190 for 2022, 910 for 2021 and 785 for 2020.
  • Oak Creek: 1,410 for 2025, 1,089 for 2024, 1,180 for 2023, 1,082 for 2022, 1,028 for 2021 and 1,092 for 2020.
  • Wauwatosa: 1,370 for 2025, 1,480 for 2024, 1,330 for 2023, 1,125 for 2022, 916 for 2021 and 1,004 for 2020.
  • Glendale: 1,228 for 2025, 1,150 for 2024, 930 for 2023, 940 for 2022, 738 for 2021 and 646 for 2020.
  • West Milwaukee: 913 for 2025, 663 for 2024, 558 for 2023, 597 for 2022, 545 for 2021 and 875 for 2020.
  • Cudahy: 714 for 2025, 759 for 2024, 751 for 2023, 725 for 2022, 721 for 2021 and 714 for 2020.
  • Brown Deer: 679 for 2025, 643 for 2024, 984 for 2023, 802 for 2022, 783 for 2021 and 757 for 2020.
  • Franklin: 630 for 2025, 859 for 2024, 655 for 2023, 861 for 2022, 869 for 2021 and 1,099 for 2020.
  • South Milwaukee: 603 for 2025, 737 for 2024, 814 for 2023, 773 for 2022, 731 for 2021 and 749 for 2020.

Together, the 20 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 28,168 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 28,168 in 2025 against 27,333 in 2024, up 3.1 percent.

Through March 2026, the 17 agencies with every month so far on file reported 2,969 arrests, against 3,084 in the same months of 2025.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Milwaukee County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Milwaukee 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 2,170 people, up from about 1,930 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 2,738 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office at incustodysearch.milwaukeecountywi.gov (page title: Milwaukee County Sheriff | In Custody Locator), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.

That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.

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 Milwaukee County

An arrest in Milwaukee County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at wicourts.gov/casesearch.htm).

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 Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
  • An arrest in Milwaukee, West Allis, Wauwatosa, Oak Creek, Greenfield, Franklin or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
  • An arrest by the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, the State Fair Park Police or Marquette University: the records office of the agency involved.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, through the court records page at wicourts.gov/casesearch.htm.
  • Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.

Cities in Milwaukee County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the 19 cities in Milwaukee County: the twelve named above and Brown Deer, St. Francis, Hales Corners, Fox Point, Bayside, West Milwaukee and River Hills.

Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Milwaukee County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Milwaukee County each year?

Milwaukee reported 12,488 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 20 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 28,168 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Milwaukee County?

Look on the custody page of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office at incustodysearch.milwaukeecountywi.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.

Where are people arrested in Milwaukee County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee 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.