Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2024. 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 September 25, 2026.
Durango, Colorado, in La Plata County, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city 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 La Plata County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Durango public records, La Plata County arrest records, Colorado arrest records and Colorado inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Durango
The FBI lists Durango with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Durango Police Department. It reported 1,720 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the La Plata County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 163 arrests for 2024.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in La Plata County: Fort Lewis College (campus police); Southwest Drug Task Force (other).
How Many Arrests Durango Reports
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.
- Durango: 1,720 for 2024, 2,057 for 2023, 1,468 for 2022, 1,292 for 2021, 1,261 for 2020 and 1,256 for 2019.
Durango's 1,720 arrests in 2024 were down 16 percent from 2,057 in 2023.
Across La Plata County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 1,912 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Durango Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Durango 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 160 people, down from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 230 beds, and it ran at 69 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 La Plata County Sheriff's Office at lpcgov.org/sheriff.php (page title: La Plata County Sheriff), phone 970-247-1157, 283 Girard Street Durango, CO 81303, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Colorado Department of Corrections lists its inmates at cdoc.colorado.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Durango
An arrest in Durango can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the La Plata County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at coloradojudicial.gov/courts/trial-courts/la-plata-county, phone 970-247-2304); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at lpcgov.org/departments/district_attorney_s_office/index.php, phone (970) 247-8850).
Colorado is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the state runs an online name-based criminal history check open to the public, through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. 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 Durango
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Colorado Open Records Act the agency must answer within 3 working days, extendable to 7 when there are extenuating circumstances, and it may charge research and retrieval time after the first hour, plus copying.
- An arrest by the Durango police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at durangoco.gov/policeforms (page title: Police Forms | Durango, CO), phone 970-375-4750, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the La Plata County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 970-247-1157.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (970) 247-8850, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the La Plata County District Court, through the court records page at coloradojudicial.gov, phone 970-247-2304.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
The La Plata County guide covers every agency in the county: La Plata County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Durango each year?
Durango reported 1,720 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Durango?
Ask the La Plata County Sheriff's Office at 970-247-1157; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lpcgov.org/sheriff.php.
Where are people arrested in Durango booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the La Plata County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Durango?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation: the state runs an online name-based criminal history check open to the public. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Colorado Open Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Durango?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Durango police for its own arrests, the La Plata County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Colorado Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 working days, extendable to 7 when there are extenuating circumstances.
Is this the official Durango website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.