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 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Kent County, Maryland, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Kent County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and one state 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 State's Attorney files charges, a case in the Circuit Court for Kent County. 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: Kent County public records, Maryland arrest records, Maryland inmate search and Maryland criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Kent County
The Kent County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Kent County. It reported 384 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Kent County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Chestertown, 5,702 residents: 194 arrests reported for 2025.
- Rock Hall, 1,200 residents: 3 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 Kent County: the Kent County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Kent 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.
- Kent County Sheriff's Office: 384 for 2025, 464 for 2024, 630 for 2022, 543 for 2020 and 805 for 2019; 2021 and 2023 are missing months.
- Chestertown: 194 for 2025, 195 for 2024, 203 for 2023, 170 for 2022, 159 for 2020 and 152 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Rock Hall: 3 for 2025, 10 for 2024, 17 for 2023, 11 for 2022, 10 for 2020 and 31 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 581 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 581 in 2025 against 669 in 2024, down 13 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 325 arrests, against 324 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Kent County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Kent 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 40 people, down from about 57 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 78 beds, and it ran at 54 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 Kent County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.kentcounty.com (page title: Kent County Sheriff's Office), phone 410-778-2279, 104 Vickers Drive Unit B, Chestertown MD 21620, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Kent County
For Kent County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court for Kent County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.state.md.us/clerks/kent/records, phone 410-778-7460).
Statewide, Maryland Judiciary Case Search is the free statewide case search of every Maryland court.
Maryland does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Criminal Justice Information System goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Kent County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Maryland Public Information Act the agency must answer within 30 days, with a denial due within 10 working days, and it may charge staff time after the first two hours, plus copying.
- An arrest by the Kent County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 410-778-2279.
- An arrest in Chestertown or Rock Hall: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Kent County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court for Kent County, through the court records page at courts.state.md.us/clerks/kent/records, phone 410-778-7460.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the CJIS Central Repository.
Cities in Kent County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the five cities in Kent County: Chestertown and Rock Hall. Millington, Galena and Betterton 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 Circuit Court for Kent County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Kent County each year?
The Kent County Sheriff's Office reported 384 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 581 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Kent County?
Ask the Kent County Sheriff's Office at 410-778-2279; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriff.kentcounty.com.
Where are people arrested in Kent County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Kent County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Kent County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Circuit Court for Kent County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Criminal Justice Information System is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Maryland Public Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Kent County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Kent County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Maryland Public Information Act the answer is due within 30 days, with a denial due within 10 working days.
Is this the official Kent 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.