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 on September 24, 2026.
Doniphan County, Kansas, has about 7,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Doniphan County Sheriff's Office and four city agencies. 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 Doniphan County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Doniphan County public records, Kansas arrest records, Kansas inmate search and Kansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Doniphan County
The Doniphan County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Doniphan County. It reported 38 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Wathena, 1,260 residents.
- Elwood, 1,137 residents: 38 arrests reported for 2025.
- Troy, 982 residents: 2 arrests reported for 2019.
- Highland, 932 residents: 84 arrests reported for 2019.
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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Doniphan County
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.
- Doniphan County Sheriff's Office: 38 for 2025, 30 for 2024, 35 for 2022, 39 for 2020 and 41 for 2019; 2021 and 2023 are missing months.
- Elwood: 38 for 2025, 62 for 2024 and 48 for 2023.
- Highland: 84 for 2019.
- Troy: 2 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 76 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 76 in 2025 against 92 in 2024, down 17 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 47 arrests, against 37 in the same months of 2025.
Highland reported only part of 2025 (5 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Doniphan County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Doniphan 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 2021 the jail held about 11 people, down from about 12 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 40 beds, and it ran at 30 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Doniphan County Sheriff's Office at doniphanso.com/county-jail/current-inmates (page title: Current Inmates | Doniphan County, KS | Sheriff Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 Doniphan County
An arrest in Doniphan County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Doniphan County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Doniphan County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at dpcountyks.com/dept/district-court, phone 785-985-3582); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at dpcountyks.com/dept/county-attorney, phone 785-985-2313).
Statewide, Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is the Kansas courts' statewide case search.
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 Doniphan 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 Doniphan County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Wathena, Elwood, Troy or Highland: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 785-985-2313, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Doniphan County District Court, through the court records page at dpcountyks.com/dept/district-court, phone 785-985-3582.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Doniphan County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the eight cities in Doniphan County: Wathena, Elwood, Troy and Highland. Denton, White Cloud, Severance and Leona 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 Doniphan County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Doniphan County each year?
The Doniphan County Sheriff's Office reported 38 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 76 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Doniphan County?
Look on the custody page of the Doniphan County Sheriff's Office at doniphanso.com/county-jail/current-inmates. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Doniphan County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Doniphan County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Doniphan 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 Doniphan County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Doniphan 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 Doniphan 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.