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 4, 2026.
Harrison County, Kentucky, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Harrison County Sheriff's Office, one city agency and two other 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 Harrison 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: Harrison County public records, Kentucky arrest records, Kentucky inmate search and Kentucky criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Harrison County
The Harrison County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Harrison County. It reported 124 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Harrison County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Cynthiana, 6,557 residents: 223 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.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Harrison County: Harrison County Schools and Bluegrass Narcotics Task Force (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Harrison 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.
- Cynthiana: 223 for 2025, 277 for 2024, 274 for 2023, 359 for 2022, 395 for 2021 and 323 for 2020.
- Harrison County Sheriff's Office: 124 for 2025, 184 for 2024, 165 for 2023, 184 for 2022, 128 for 2021 and 105 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 347 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 347 in 2025 against 461 in 2024, down 25 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Harrison County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Harrison 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 96 people, down from about 100 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 78 beds, and it ran at 124 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 Harrison County Sheriff's Office at harrisoncountyfiscalcourt.com/sheriff.asp (page title: Harrison County), phone (859) 234-7135, 111 South Main Street, Cynthiana, KY 41031, Monday-Friday, 8:30AM - 4:30PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Harrison County
For Harrison County the place to look is the case index of the Harrison 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/Harrison.aspx, phone 859-234-1914).
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 Harrison 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 Harrison County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (859) 234-7135.
- An arrest in Cynthiana: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Harrison County Schools or Bluegrass Narcotics Task Force: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Harrison Circuit Court, through the court records page at kycourts.gov, phone 859-234-1914.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Harrison County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in Harrison County: Cynthiana. Berry has 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 Harrison Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Harrison County each year?
Cynthiana reported 223 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 347 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Harrison County?
Ask the Harrison County Sheriff's Office at (859) 234-7135; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at harrisoncountyfiscalcourt.com/sheriff.asp.
Where are people arrested in Harrison County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Harrison County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Harrison 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 Harrison County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Harrison 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 Harrison 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.