Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Ellis County, Kansas, has about 29,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Ellis County depends on where the incident happened: the Ellis County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Kansas Open Records Act requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Ellis County public records, Ellis County arrest records, Ellis County warrants, Ellis County inmate search, Ellis County criminal records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Ellis County
A crime, incident or collision report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court, the jail or the prosecutor.
In Ellis County that is the Ellis County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
The FBI's list also carries Fort Hays State University (campus police), with a records office of its own.
Reports from the Ellis County Sheriff's Office
The Ellis County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 16 violent and 49 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 211 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at ellisco.net/102/Sheriff (page title: Ellis County Sheriff's Office | Ellis County, KS), 105 W. 12th St. Hays, KS 67601, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Ellis County
The three cities the FBI lists in Ellis County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Hays: 54 violent and 215 property crimes reported for 2025; 877 arrests reported for 2025. The Hays police records page is at haysusa.com/FormCenter/Police-8/Request-for-Records-63, phone 785-625-1024 (verified September 27, 2026).
- Ellis: 18 arrests reported for 2021.
- Victoria: 1 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Reports: Ellis County in 2025
The two agencies in Ellis County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 70 violent and 264 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the two agencies in Ellis County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,088 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Kansas Open Records Act Requires
Under the Kansas Open Records Act the agency must answer a request within 3 business days, and it may charge staff time and copying. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at ellisco.net/637/Kansas-Open-Records-Act (page title: Kansas Open Records Act | Ellis County, KS).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Ellis County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Ellis 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.
How long does an agency in Ellis County have to answer?
Under the Kansas Open Records Act, within 3 business days. It may charge staff time and copying.
How do I get a report from the Ellis County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. Under the Kansas Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.
Is this the official Ellis 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.