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 October 9, 2026.
Russell County, Kansas, has about 6,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Russell County Sheriff's Office and one city 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 Russell 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: Russell County public records, Kansas arrest records, Kansas inmate search and Kansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Russell County
The Russell County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Russell County. It reported 27 arrests for 2025.
One city in Russell County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Russell, 4,325 residents: 77 arrests reported for 2023.
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 Russell 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.
- Russell: 77 for 2023, 86 for 2022, 76 for 2021, 103 for 2020 and 116 for 2019.
- Russell County Sheriff's Office: 27 for 2025, 24 for 2024, 34 for 2023, 16 for 2022, 22 for 2021 and 32 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2023 on file reported 111 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2023 and 2022 complete reported 111 in 2023 against 102 in 2022, up 8.8 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Russell County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Russell 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 24 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 21 beds, and it ran at 114 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Russell County Sheriff's Office at russellcountykansas.com/220/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Russell County, KS), phone 785-483-2151, 210 E 4th Street Russell, KS 67665, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 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 Russell County
Whether someone was arrested in Russell County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Russell County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at russellcountykansas.com/191/District-Court, phone 785-483-5641); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at russellcountykansas.com/209/Attorney, phone 785-483-3119).
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 Russell County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Russell County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 785-483-2151.
- An arrest in Russell: 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, 785-483-3119, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Russell County District Court, through the court records page at russellcountykansas.com/191/District-Court, phone 785-483-5641.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The other Russell County guides go further: warrants, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, DUI, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Russell County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the eight cities in Russell County: Russell. Gorham, Lucas, Luray, Dorrance, Bunker Hill, Paradise and Waldo 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 Russell County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Russell County each year?
Russell reported 77 arrests to the FBI for 2023, and the two agencies with every month of 2023 on file reported 111 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Russell County?
Ask the Russell County Sheriff's Office at 785-483-2151; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at russellcountykansas.com/220/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Russell County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Russell County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Russell 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 Russell County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Russell 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 Russell 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.