SearchSystems Editorial

Reviewed and updated October 4, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The crime counts are the ones 11 agencies reported to the FBI for 2025. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data, latest year 2025. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.

About this guide

Kern County, California, has about 923,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). No single office holds its records: the county, the state, the Superior Court of California, County of Kern and the cities and towns each keep their own. The sections below take them one at a time, beginning with the crime counts its police agencies reported, with each office's own phone, address and page where it publishes them.

In this guide: Crime numbers, Jail and arrests, Warrants, Criminal records, District Attorney, Police reports, Sex offender registry, Court records, Traffic tickets, DUI, Divorce records, Deeds and property, Records requests, Which office covers your city, Other counties and Questions.

California guides: Arrest Records · Inmate Search · Criminal Records · Background Checks · Wants and Warrants · Sex Offender Registry · Court Records · Property Records · Recorded Documents · Public Records Law · People Search

Crime Numbers in Kern County, 2025

The FBI publishes the crime counts that Kern County's police agencies send it each month: here that means the Kern County Sheriff's Office and the Stallion Springs Police Department and the Bear Valley Police Department, with a separate count for each of ten of its cities. 2025 is the latest year with every month in for the agencies counted below.

In 2025 the 11 agencies with all twelve months reported 5,773 violent and 17,121 property crimes. Among the ten of them that also reported all of 2024, violent crime fell from 5,972 in 2024 to 5,679 in 2025, down 4.9 percent, and property crime fell from 19,126 in 2024 to 16,844 in 2025, down 12 percent. That is 2,575 fewer crimes in all.

  • Bakersfield: 2,087 violent and 9,503 property crimes in 2025, down 8.6 percent from 12,676 in 2024.
  • Kern County Sheriff's Office: 3,163 violent and 6,171 property crimes in 2025, down 11 percent from 10,516 in 2024.
  • Ridgecrest: 159 violent and 246 property crimes in 2025, down 15 percent from 477 in 2024.
  • Wasco: 94 violent and 277 property crimes in 2025.
  • Shafter: 76 violent and 290 property crimes in 2025, down 3.9 percent from 381 in 2024.
  • California City: 66 violent and 181 property crimes in 2025, down 18 percent from 301 in 2024.

Through July 2026, the ten agencies with every month in so far counted 2,920 violent and 9,984 property crimes, against 3,461 and 9,920 in the same months of 2025.

Delano reported only part of 2025 (11 months), so it is left out of the totals. Arvin sent no counts for 2024 or 2025.

The monthly counts are published by the FBI at cde.ucr.cjis.gov, and California publishes its own statewide tables on OpenJustice.

Arrests, Jail and Inmate Search in Kern County

People held after an arrest in Kern County are booked into the county jail. Its roster, with the charges and the bond for each person held, is the first public record of an arrest; once the person is released or sentenced, the record continues in the court file.

In 2025 the jail's average daily population was about 1,790, down from about 1,910 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,835 beds, and it ran at 88 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

The jail and inmate page

The jail and inmate page SearchSystems verified for Kern County:

  • Website: kernsheriff.org/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Kern County Sheriff’s Office)
  • Checked: September 23, 2026, the page answered.

People sentenced to prison serve the sentence in a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.

SearchSystems' California inmate search guide and arrest records guide explain how arrest and custody records work across California.

Warrants in Kern County

An arrest warrant in Kern County is signed by a judge, usually of the Superior Court of California, County of Kern, and is served by the Kern County Sheriff's Office or the city police. A judge also issues a bench warrant when someone misses a court date, and a warrant issued in a case becomes part of that case's court file.

The California wants and warrants guide covers the statewide picture.

Criminal Records and Background Checks in Kern County

In California the statewide criminal history record is closed to the public. The California Department of Justice releases it to its subject and to authorized employers and licensing agencies; a member of the public checks the court's own case index in Kern County instead, which is open.

Your own California record

To see your own record, the route is a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR. The state fee is $25. The response cannot be used for immigration or visa purposes. Details are on the California Department of Justice page.

Local records in Kern County

The Kern County Sheriff's Office keeps its own arrest and booking files for Kern County, separate from the state repository, and some sheriffs issue a local clearance letter from them. The prosecutions themselves are in the files of the Superior Court of California, County of Kern.

The California criminal records guide and background check guide explain who may legally check whom, and what each route costs.

District Attorney for Kern County

The District Attorney is the charging office for Kern County: it reviews arrests from every police agency in the county and files the cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Plea offers, restitution and victim notification go through it; copies of filings come from the court.

Sheriff and Police Reports in Kern County

Reports are released by the agency that took them. In Kern County that means the Kern County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and a city's own police department where the city has one. Under the California Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. It may charge the direct cost of copying only, not staff time.

SearchSystems has a guide to the city offices of Bakersfield, Delano, Ridgecrest, Wasco, Shafter, McFarland and Tehachapi.

Sex Offender Registry for Kern County

Registered sex offenders living in Kern County are listed on the Megan's Law website, run by the California Department of Justice at meganslaw.ca.gov. The registry is tiered; some registrants are kept off the public site and others are shown by ZIP code only.

Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department. A search of the state site that finds no one is not proof that a person is not registered, since the site does not show every registrant.

The California sex offender registry guide explains the tiers and the notification rules.

Court Records and Case Search in Kern County

In Kern County, the Superior Court of California, County of Kern hears every civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic and juvenile case. The Superior Court clerk keeps the files.

The court records page SearchSystems verified

California has no single statewide index of trial court cases; each court's records are looked up through that court. The state court system's page SearchSystems verified is at courts.ca.gov/policy-administration/public-records/who-where-how-vi....

The California court records guide covers copy fees, certified copies and sealed records statewide.

Traffic Tickets and Driving Records in Kern County

Tickets in Kern County go to the Superior Court of California, County of Kern. A paid ticket, a dismissal and a trial all end up in that court's records.

The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which adds each conviction the court reports and handles suspensions; the court does not issue driving records.

DUI Arrests and Records in Kern County

Drunk driving is charged as DUI in California, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more. In Kern County a DUI arrest goes the same way whoever makes it: a person who is held is booked at the county jail, and the case is charged by the District Attorney in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern.

The court case is only half the record. The DMV runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided. For sentencing, California counts prior offenses within 10 years.

Divorce Records in Kern County

Divorce records are not vital records in California. The decree and the file are court records of the Superior Court's family law division, and certified copies come from the Superior Court clerk, not from the County Recorder.

For Kern County the court records page is kern.courts.ca.gov/self-help/court-records. Most of a divorce file is public once the case is closed; financial declarations, records about children and anything the court sealed are not.

For divorces granted between 1962 and June 1984 the California Department of Public Health can issue a Certificate of Record, which confirms the names, the county and the case number but is not a copy of the judgment.

Property Records, Deeds and Parcel Search in Kern County

Who owns a parcel in Kern County and what it sold for are in the deed records of the County Recorder, with every lien or mortgage against the land; what it is taxed on is the business of the County Assessor. Under Proposition 13 a property's assessed value is set when it changes hands and can rise no more than 2 percent a year after that, so a home owned for decades is often assessed far below its market value.

Recorded documents

Property values

The California property records guide and recorded documents guide explain how to read a deed index and what a title search costs.

Public Records Requests in Kern County

The California Public Records Act applies to every county office in Kern County, from the Kern County Sheriff's Office to the County Recorder. A request is made in writing to the office that keeps the record; no reason is required. The answer is due within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. The office may charge the direct cost of copying only, not staff time. The courts are not covered by the act.

The records request page SearchSystems verified for Kern County:

  • Website: kerncountyca.nextrequest.com (page title: Open Public RecordsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software)
  • Checked: September 23, 2026, the page answered.

The California public records law guide has the appeal route when a request is denied.

Which Office Covers Your City in Kern County

Wherever an arrest happens in Kern County, the jail is the county jail, the court is the Superior Court of California, County of Kern and the deed records are with the County Recorder. What changes from city to city is the police agency: the Kern County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and a city's own police department where the city has one.

The FBI publishes separate crime counts for ten of these cities: Arvin, Bakersfield, Delano, McFarland, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi, Wasco and California City; the crime section above has the numbers.

Cities in Kern County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; the linked names open SearchSystems' guide to that city's own offices:

Frequently Asked Questions

Did crime go up or down in Kern County in 2025?

Down 10 percent. The ten agencies with all of 2024 and 2025 reported 22,523 crimes in 2025 against 25,098 in 2024: 5,679 violent against 5,972, and 16,844 property against 19,126. Two more agencies reported only part of one of the two years and are not in this comparison.

How many people are in the Kern County jail?

About 1,790 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 1,835 beds.

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

Check the roster on the jail page SearchSystems verified at kernsheriff.org/inmate-search. It shows each person held, the charges and the bond.

Are criminal records public in Kern County?

Court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the California Department of Justice is not public; you can get your own for $25.

Can I search Kern County court cases online?

The records page of the Superior Court of California, County of Kern is at kern.courts.ca.gov/self-help/court-records.

What is the DUI law in Kern County?

California charges it as DUI at 0.08 or above. The criminal case is heard in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern. The license case is handled separately by the DMV.

How do I get a copy of a divorce decree in Kern County?

From the Superior Court's family law division, through the Superior Court clerk (kern.courts.ca.gov/self-help/court-records). For divorces granted between 1962 and June 1984 the California Department of Public Health can issue a Certificate of Record, which confirms the names, the county and the case number but is not a copy of the judgment.

Who records deeds in Kern County?

The County Recorder, at recorderonline.co.kern.ca.us. Deeds, mortgages and liens on land in Kern County are filed there, and the County Assessor (kerncounty.com) has the assessment records.

How long does Kern County have to answer a records request?

Under the California Public Records Act, the answer is due within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances. The records request page SearchSystems verified is at kerncountyca.nextrequest.com.

Is this the official Kern 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.

Population
923K
County Seat
Bakersfield
Libraries
29
Schools
263