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.
Richland County, Wisconsin, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Richland County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 Richland 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: Richland County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Richland County
The Richland County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Richland County. It reported 207 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Richland County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Richland Center, 5,052 residents: 402 arrests reported for 2023.
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 The Richland County Sheriff's Office Reports
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.
- Richland County Sheriff's Office: 207 for 2025, 220 for 2024, 209 for 2023, 234 for 2022, 207 for 2021 and 129 for 2020.
- Richland Center: 402 for 2023, 490 for 2022, 499 for 2020 and 488 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
The Richland County Sheriff's Office's 207 arrests in 2025 were down 5.9 percent from 220 in 2024.
Through March 2026, Richland County Sheriff's Office reported 44 arrests, against 35 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Richland County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Richland 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 17 people, down from about 28 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 42 beds, and it ran at 40 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Richland County
For Richland County the place to look is the case index of the Richland County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at justice.co.richland.wi.us/court-related-links, phone 608-647-3956).
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 Richland 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 Richland County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Richland Center: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Richland County Circuit Court, through the court records page at justice.co.richland.wi.us/court-related-links, phone 608-647-3956.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Richland County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the six cities in Richland County: Richland Center. Lone Rock, Viola, Cazenovia, Boaz and Yuba 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 Richland County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Richland County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Richland Center (5,052)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Richland County each year?
The Richland County Sheriff's Office reported 207 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Richland County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Richland County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Richland 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 Richland County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Richland 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 Richland 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.