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.
Washburn County, Wisconsin, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washburn County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Washburn 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: Washburn County public records, Wisconsin arrest records, Wisconsin inmate search and Wisconsin criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Washburn County
The Washburn County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Washburn County. It reported 161 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two 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:
- Spooner, 2,494 residents: 185 arrests reported for 2025.
- Birchwood, 408 residents: 5 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 Each Agency Reports in Washburn 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.
- Spooner: 185 for 2025, 156 for 2024, 141 for 2023, 280 for 2020 and 326 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Washburn County Sheriff's Office: 161 for 2025, 154 for 2024, 162 for 2023, 143 for 2022, 207 for 2021 and 175 for 2020.
- Birchwood: 5 for 2023, 4 for 2022, 6 for 2020 and 14 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 346 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 346 in 2025 against 310 in 2024, up 12 percent.
Through March 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 93 arrests, against 70 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washburn County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Washburn 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 10 people, down from about 32 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 30 beds, and it ran at 32 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 Washburn County Sheriff's Office at washburnsheriff.org/jail (page title: Washburn County Jail | Washburn County Sheriff's Office), 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 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 Washburn County
An arrest in Washburn County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Washburn County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.washburn.wi.us/departments/clerk-of-circuit-court, phone (715) 468-4677); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.washburn.wi.us/departments/district-attorney, phone (715) 468-4670).
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 Washburn 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 Washburn County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Spooner or Birchwood: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (715) 468-4670, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washburn County Circuit Court, through the court records page at co.washburn.wi.us, phone (715) 468-4677.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Washburn County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Washburn County: Spooner and Birchwood. Shell Lake and Minong 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 Washburn County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washburn County each year?
Spooner reported 185 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 346 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washburn County?
Ask the Washburn County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washburnsheriff.org/jail.
Where are people arrested in Washburn County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Washburn County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Washburn 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 Washburn County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Washburn 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 Washburn 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.