Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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.
Chautauqua County, Kansas, has about 3,300 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and one other agency. 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 County Attorney files charges, a case in the Chautauqua County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Chautauqua County public records, Kansas arrest records, Kansas inmate search and Kansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Chautauqua County
The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Chautauqua County. It reported 23 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists two cities in Chautauqua County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population:
- Sedan, 985 residents.
- Cedar Vale, 474 residents.
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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Chautauqua County: the Chautauqua Unified School District (other).
Arrest Counts on File for Chautauqua County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Chautauqua County the counts on file are partial: Sedan, Cedar Vale and Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office have sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Chautauqua County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Chautauqua 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 2019 the jail held about 10 people. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.us/corrections (page title: Corrections), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Kansas Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.ks.gov/@@search?SearchableText=inmate+search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Chautauqua County
For Chautauqua County the place to look is Kansas District Court Public Access Portal, the Kansas courts' statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed.
Kansas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can order a name-based criminal history record check online, through the Kansas 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 Chautauqua County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Kansas Open Records Act the agency must answer within 3 business days, and it may charge staff time and copying.
- An arrest by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Sedan or Cedar Vale: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Chautauqua Unified School District: the records office of the agency involved.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Chautauqua County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the six cities in Chautauqua County: Sedan and Cedar Vale. Chautauqua, Peru, Niotaze and Elgin 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 Chautauqua County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Chautauqua County?
Ask the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriff.us/corrections.
Where are people arrested in Chautauqua County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Chautauqua County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation: anyone can order a name-based criminal history record check online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Kansas Open Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Chautauqua County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Kansas Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.
Is this the official Chautauqua 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.