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 on September 23, 2026.

About this guide

Rock County, Wisconsin, has about 165,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Rock County Sheriff's Office and ten 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 Rock 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: Rock County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Rock County

The Rock County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Rock County. It reported 1,573 arrests for 2025.

Arrests inside nine 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:

  • Janesville, 66,428 residents: 3,504 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Beloit (town), 36,633 residents: 348 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Beloit, 36,633 residents: 2,623 arrests reported for 2024.
  • Edgerton, 6,138 residents: 166 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Evansville, 5,819 residents: 155 arrests reported for 2024.
  • Milton, 5,778 residents: 135 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Milton (town), 5,778 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2023.
  • Clinton, 2,302 residents: 13 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Orfordville, 1,598 residents: 46 arrests reported for 2021.

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 Brodhead Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Rock County, so its arrests are not broken out for Rock County here.

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Rock 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.

  • Janesville: 3,504 for 2025, 3,562 for 2024, 3,472 for 2023, 3,436 for 2022, 3,113 for 2021 and 2,650 for 2020.
  • Rock County Sheriff's Office: 1,573 for 2025, 1,529 for 2023, 1,526 for 2022, 1,349 for 2021, 1,180 for 2020 and 1,548 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
  • Beloit (town): 348 for 2025, 299 for 2023, 291 for 2022, 307 for 2020 and 489 for 2019; 2021 and 2024 are missing months.
  • Edgerton: 166 for 2025, 180 for 2024, 147 for 2023, 179 for 2022, 124 for 2021 and 97 for 2020.
  • Milton: 135 for 2025, 190 for 2023, 161 for 2022, 185 for 2021, 166 for 2020 and 205 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
  • Clinton: 13 for 2025, 31 for 2024, 56 for 2023, 41 for 2022, 50 for 2021 and 117 for 2020.
  • Beloit: 2,623 for 2024, 2,511 for 2023, 2,460 for 2022, 2,253 for 2021, 2,443 for 2020 and 3,261 for 2019.
  • Evansville: 155 for 2024.
  • Orfordville: 46 for 2021.
  • Fulton: 2 for 2023, 9 for 2022, 4 for 2020 and 23 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Milton (town): 0 for 2023, 12 for 2022, 1 for 2020 and 7 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.

Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,739 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,683 in 2025 against 3,773 in 2024, down 2.4 percent.

Through March 2026, the six agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,446 arrests, against 1,319 in the same months of 2025.

Evansville and Beloit reported only part of 2025 (11 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Rock County Are Held

The county jail is where a person arrested in Rock County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.

On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 360 people, down from about 440 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 505 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 Rock County Sheriff's Office at co.rock.wi.us/departments/sheriff-s-office/jail (page title: Jail | Rock County, WI), phone 608-757-8000, 200 East US Highway 14 Janesville, WI 53545, Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 3:00 pm, 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 Rock County

An arrest in Rock County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Rock County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us/departments/circuit-court, phone 608-757-5785); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.rock.wi.us/departments/district-attorney, phone (608) 757-5615).

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 Rock 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 Rock County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 608-757-8000.
  • An arrest in Janesville, Beloit (town), Beloit, Edgerton, Evansville, Milton 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.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (608) 757-5615, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Rock County Circuit Court, through the court records page at co.rock.wi.us/departments/circuit-court, phone 608-757-5785.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us (page title: Public Records Requests | Rock County, WI).
  • Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.

Cities in Rock County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for nine of the eight cities in Rock County: Janesville, Beloit (town), Beloit, Edgerton, Evansville, Milton, Milton (town), Clinton and Orfordville. Footville has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Fulton Police Department as a city agency in Rock County; Fulton is not among the cities above.

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

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Rock 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 Rock County each year?

Janesville reported 3,504 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 5,739 between them.

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

Ask the Rock County Sheriff's Office at 608-757-8000; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us.

Where are people arrested in Rock County booked?

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

Are arrest records public in Rock 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 Rock County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Rock 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.rock.wi.us.

Is this the official Rock 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.