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 October 2, 2026.
Buchanan County, Missouri, has about 84,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Buchanan County is held at the county jail, run by the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Buchanan County public records, Buchanan County arrest records, Buchanan County warrants, Buchanan County criminal records, Buchanan County court records, Missouri arrest records and Missouri inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Buchanan County
The county jail, run by the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Buchanan County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office at inmate.co.buchanan.mo.us/NewWorld.InmateInquiry/buchananco?Page=1 (page title: Inmate Search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Buchanan County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 180 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 245 beds, and it ran at 75 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Buchanan County has about 84,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 21 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Buchanan County Jail
The Buchanan County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for St. Joseph make the arrests that end in a booking in Buchanan County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Buchanan County: Missouri Western State University (campus police); Northwest Missouri Drug Task Force (other agency).
The Gower Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Buchanan County, so its arrests are not broken out for Buchanan County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were St. Joseph's 3,039 for 2025 and the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office's 268 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Buchanan County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,307 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Buchanan County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Missouri Department of Corrections lists its inmates at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Buchanan County?
Look on the custody page of the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office at inmate.co.buchanan.mo.us. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Buchanan County jail?
About 180 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 245 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Buchanan County go?
To a facility of the Missouri Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Is this the official Buchanan 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.