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.
Rice County, Kansas, has about 9,300 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Rice County depends on where the incident happened: the Rice 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: Rice County public records, Rice County arrest records, Rice County warrants, Rice County inmate search, Rice County criminal records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Rice 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 Rice County that is the Rice 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.
Reports from the Rice County Sheriff's Office
The Rice County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 11 violent and 12 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 47 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit, reached through the office at 620-257-7876. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at ricecounty.us/departments/rice_county_sheriffs_office/index.php (page title: Rice County Sheriff's Office), phone 620-257-7876, 1442 West Commercial Ave Lyons, KS 67554, Monday through Friday 8 AM - 4 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Rice County
The six cities the FBI lists in Rice County with a reporting agency of their own:
- Lyons: 15 violent and 128 property crimes reported for 2025; 49 arrests reported for 2025.
- Sterling: 2 violent and 9 property crimes reported for 2025; 6 arrests reported for 2025.
- Little River: 0 arrests reported for 2019.
- Chase.
- Geneseo.
- Bushton.
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: Rice County in 2025
The three agencies in Rice County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 28 violent and 149 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the three agencies in Rice County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 102 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Kansas Open Records Act Requires
The Kansas Open Records Act sets the rules: an answer within 3 business days, at a charge of staff time and copying, from the agency that holds the report.
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 620-257-3081, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Rice County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Rice 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 Rice 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 Rice County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit, reached through the office at 620-257-7876. Under the Kansas Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.
Is this the official Rice 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.