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 October 1, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Wilson County, Kansas, has about 8,400 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wilson County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Wilson 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: Wilson County public records, Kansas arrest records, Kansas inmate search and Kansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wilson County
The Wilson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wilson County. It reported 77 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two 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:
- Neodesha, 2,210 residents: 99 arrests reported for 2025.
- Fredonia, 2,071 residents: 60 arrests reported for 2025.
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 Wilson 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.
- Neodesha: 99 for 2025, 80 for 2024, 82 for 2023, 87 for 2022, 103 for 2021 and 105 for 2020.
- Wilson County Sheriff's Office: 77 for 2025, 45 for 2024, 28 for 2020 and 37 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Fredonia: 60 for 2025, 86 for 2024 and 44 for 2023.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 236 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 236 in 2025 against 211 in 2024, up 12 percent.
Through March 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 49 arrests, against 53 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wilson County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Wilson County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 65 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 98 beds, and it ran at 66 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 Wilson County Sheriff's Office at wcso95.org (page title: Wilson County Sheriff's Office | Robert Bryan, Sheriff), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Kansas Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.ks.gov/@@search?SearchableText=inmate+search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Wilson County
For Wilson 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 Wilson 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 Wilson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Neodesha or Fredonia: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Wilson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the seven cities in Wilson County: Neodesha and Fredonia. Altoona, Buffalo, Benedict, New Albany and Coyville 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 Wilson County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wilson County each year?
Neodesha reported 99 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 236 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wilson County?
Ask the Wilson County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wcso95.org.
Where are people arrested in Wilson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Wilson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wilson 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 Wilson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wilson 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 Wilson 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.