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 September 26, 2026.
Lawrence, Kansas, in Douglas County, has about 97,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lawrence is held at the county jail, run by the Douglas 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: Lawrence public records, Douglas County inmate search, Lawrence arrest records, Lawrence warrants, Lawrence criminal records, Lawrence court records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lawrence
The county jail, run by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Lawrence, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office at dgso.org/index.php/dgso-inmate-reports (page title: DGSO Inmate Reports), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Douglas County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2020 the jail held about 130 people, down from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 186 beds, and it ran at 77 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Douglas County has about 122,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Douglas County Jail
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Lawrence (filed by the FBI as Lawrence Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Lawrence.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Douglas County: the University of Kansas's Main Campus (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Lawrence's 2,482 for 2025, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office's 486 for 2025 and Eudora's 99 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Douglas County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,096 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence?
Ask the Douglas County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at dgso.org/index.php/dgso-inmate-reports.
How many people are in the Douglas County jail?
About 130 on an average day in 2020, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 186 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Douglas County go?
To a facility of the Kansas Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.ks.gov.
Is this the official Lawrence 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.