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 between September 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Emporia, Kansas, in Lyon County, has about 24,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Emporia is held at the county jail, run by the Lyon County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Emporia public records, Lyon County inmate search, Emporia arrest records, Emporia warrants, Emporia criminal records, Emporia court records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Emporia
The county jail, run by the Lyon County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Emporia, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lyon County Sheriff's Office at lyoncountyks.gov/374/Detention-Center (page title: Detention Center | Lyon County, KS), phone 620-341-3205, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 620-341-3205.
The Lyon County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 130 people. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lyon County has about 33,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 39 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lyon County Jail
The Lyon County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Emporia (filed by the FBI as Emporia Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Emporia.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Lyon County: Emporia State University (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Emporia's 432 for 2025 and the Lyon County Sheriff's Office's 21 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Lyon County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 453 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Emporia arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Kansas Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.ks.gov/@@search?SearchableText=inmate+search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Emporia?
Ask the Lyon County Sheriff's Office at 620-341-3205; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lyoncountyks.gov/374/Detention-Center.
How many people are in the Lyon County jail?
About 130 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
What is the phone number for the Lyon County jail?
620-341-3205, the number on the page of the Lyon County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lyon County go?
To a facility of the Kansas Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.ks.gov.
Is this the official Emporia 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.