SearchSystems Editorial

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.

About this guide

Kenton County, Kentucky, has about 175,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Kenton County Sheriff's Office, one other county agency, 12 city agencies and one other 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 Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the Kenton 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: Kenton County public records, Kentucky arrest records, Kentucky inmate search and Kentucky criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Kenton County

The Kenton County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Kenton County. It reported 829 arrests for 2025.

The Kenton County Police Department also reports arrests to the FBI as another county agency of Kenton County.

The FBI lists 12 cities in Kenton County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:

  • Covington, 41,611 residents: 3,147 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Independence, 30,196 residents: 296 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Erlanger, 20,172 residents: 562 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Elsmere, 9,337 residents: 145 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Fort Mitchell, 8,766 residents: 140 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Edgewood, 8,526 residents: 78 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Villa Hills, 7,763 residents: 201 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Taylor Mill, 7,116 residents: 102 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Fort Wright, 6,096 residents: 95 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Ludlow, 4,390 residents: 122 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Park Hills, 3,191 residents: 71 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Lakeside Park, 2,852 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.

The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Kenton County: Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force (other).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Kenton 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.

  • Covington: 3,147 for 2025, 3,616 for 2024, 4,129 for 2023, 3,923 for 2022, 4,373 for 2021 and 4,580 for 2020.
  • Kenton County Sheriff's Office: 829 for 2025, 982 for 2024, 1,187 for 2023, 1,195 for 2022, 1,096 for 2021 and 1,659 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • Erlanger: 562 for 2025, 603 for 2024, 623 for 2023, 848 for 2022, 734 for 2021 and 751 for 2020.
  • Kenton County Police Department: 437 for 2025, 348 for 2024, 343 for 2023, 400 for 2022, 529 for 2021 and 641 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
  • Independence: 296 for 2025, 313 for 2024, 297 for 2023, 241 for 2022, 386 for 2021 and 394 for 2020.
  • Villa Hills: 201 for 2025, 200 for 2024, 313 for 2023, 300 for 2022, 289 for 2021 and 311 for 2020.
  • Elsmere: 145 for 2025, 186 for 2024, 211 for 2023, 242 for 2022, 203 for 2021 and 137 for 2020.
  • Fort Mitchell: 140 for 2025, 143 for 2024, 197 for 2023, 166 for 2022, 148 for 2021 and 115 for 2020.
  • Ludlow: 122 for 2025, 179 for 2024, 151 for 2023, 163 for 2022, 163 for 2021 and 189 for 2020.
  • Taylor Mill: 102 for 2025, 200 for 2024, 192 for 2023, 162 for 2022, 146 for 2021 and 104 for 2020.
  • Fort Wright: 95 for 2025, 102 for 2024, 151 for 2023, 216 for 2022, 249 for 2021 and 261 for 2020.
  • Edgewood: 78 for 2025, 52 for 2024, 101 for 2023, 96 for 2022, 156 for 2021 and 129 for 2020.

Together, the 14 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,285 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 6,285 in 2025 against 7,084 in 2024, down 11 percent.

Through July 2026, the 14 agencies with every month so far on file reported 3,606 arrests, against 3,910 in the same months of 2025.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Kenton County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Kenton 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.

So far in 2026 the jail has held about 670 people on an average day, down from about 790 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 602 beds, and it is running at 111 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Kenton County Sheriff's Office at kentoncountysheriff.org/201/Current-Inmates-at-the-Kenton-County-Det (page title: Current Inmates at the Kenton County Detention Center | Kenton County Sheriff, KY), phone 859-363-2400, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.

That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.

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 Kenton County

An arrest in Kenton County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Kenton County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Kenton 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/Kenton.aspx, phone 859-292-6521); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at kentoncountyky.gov/387/Commonwealths-Attorney, phone 859-292-6580).

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 Kenton 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 Kenton County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 859-363-2400.
  • An arrest in Covington, Independence, Erlanger, Elsmere, Fort Mitchell, Edgewood or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
  • An arrest by Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force: the records office of the agency involved.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Commonwealth's Attorney, 859-292-6580, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Kenton Circuit Court, through the court records page at kycourts.gov, phone 859-292-6521.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at kentoncountyky.gov/618/Open-Records-Request (page title: Open Records Request | Kenton County, KY).
  • Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.

Cities in Kenton County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 12 of the 18 cities in Kenton County: Covington, Independence, Erlanger, Elsmere, Fort Mitchell, Edgewood, Villa Hills, Taylor Mill, Fort Wright, Ludlow, Park Hills and Lakeside Park. Crescent Springs, Crestview Hills, Ryland Heights, Bromley, Fairview and Kenton Vale 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 Kenton Circuit Court.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Kenton County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Kenton County each year?

Covington reported 3,147 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 14 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 6,285 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Kenton County?

Look on the custody page of the Kenton County Sheriff's Office at kentoncountysheriff.org, or call 859-363-2400. It covers people booked into the county jail.

Where are people arrested in Kenton County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Kenton County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Kenton 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 Kenton County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Kenton 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at kentoncountyky.gov/618/Open-Records-Request.

Is this the official Kenton 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.