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 September 30, 2026.
Hancock County, Kentucky, has about 9,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Hancock 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 Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the Hancock Circuit 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: Hancock County public records, Kentucky arrest records, Kentucky inmate search and Kentucky criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Hancock County
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Hancock County. It reported 44 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Hancock County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Lewisport, 1,743 residents: 41 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hawesville, 1,012 residents: 13 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 Hancock County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Hancock County Sheriff's Office: 44 for 2025, 41 for 2024, 48 for 2023, 46 for 2022, 71 for 2021 and 53 for 2020.
- Lewisport: 41 for 2025, 22 for 2024, 18 for 2023, 28 for 2021, 8 for 2020 and 54 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Hawesville: 13 for 2025, 16 for 2024, 2 for 2023, 2 for 2022, 7 for 2021 and 10 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 98 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 98 in 2025 against 79 in 2024, up 24 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 53 arrests, against 62 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hancock County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hancock 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 2024 the jail held about 53 people, down from about 64 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 57 beds, and it ran at 93 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 Hancock County Sheriff's Office at hancockky.us/elected-offices/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Hancock County Government), phone 270-927-1311, 225 Main Cross Street PO Box 427 Hawesville, KY 42348, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Kentucky Department of Corrections lists its inmates at kool.corrections.ky.gov/.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Hancock County
For Hancock County the place to look is the case index of the Hancock Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at kycourts.gov/Courts/County-Information/Pages/Hancock.aspx, phone 270-927-8144).
Kentucky is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Administrative Office of the Courts, not the state police, sells name-based criminal record reports to the public, for $25 a search, through the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts. 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 Hancock 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 Kentucky Open Records Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying, 10 cents a page for standard copies.
- An arrest by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 270-927-1311.
- An arrest in Lewisport or Hawesville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Hancock Circuit Court, through the court records page at kycourts.gov, phone 270-927-8144.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The other Hancock County guides go further: warrants, inmate search, criminal records, court records, police reports, DUI, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Hancock County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Hancock County: Lewisport and Hawesville.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Hancock Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Hancock County each year?
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office reported 44 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 98 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Hancock County?
Ask the Hancock County Sheriff's Office at 270-927-1311; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hancockky.us/elected-offices/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Hancock County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Hancock County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts: the Administrative Office of the Courts, not the state police, sells name-based criminal record reports to the public, for $25. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Kentucky Open Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Hancock County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hancock County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Kentucky Open Records Act the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official Hancock 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.