Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2024. 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 28, 2026.
Las Cruces, New Mexico, in Doña Ana County, has about 117,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the District Court for Doña Ana County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Las Cruces public records, Doña Ana County arrest records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Las Cruces
The FBI lists Las Cruces with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Las Cruces Police Department. It reported 2,631 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 674 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Doña Ana County: New Mexico State University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Las Cruces Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Las Cruces: 2,631 for 2024, 2,365 for 2023, 2,143 for 2022, 2,074 for 2021, 1,722 for 2020 and 1,933 for 2019.
Las Cruces's 2,631 arrests in 2024 were up 11 percent from 2,365 in 2023.
Across Doña Ana County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 928 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Las Cruces Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Las Cruces and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 610 people, down from about 700 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 846 beds, and it ran at 72 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 Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office at apps.donaanacounty.org/www/inmates (page title: DAC JCMS Inmates Online | Doña Ana County), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the New Mexico Corrections Department, whose inmate locator is at cd.nm.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Las Cruces
An arrest in Las Cruces can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the District Court for Doña Ana County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at donaana.nm.publicsearch.us); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at donaanacountyda.com/contact-us, phone (575) 524-6370).
Statewide, New Mexico Courts Case Lookup is the New Mexico Judiciary's free statewide case search.
New Mexico does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety 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 Las Cruces
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Inspection of Public Records Act the agency must answer within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days, and it may charge copying at no more than $1 a page.
- An arrest by the Las Cruces police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at lascruces.gov/safety/police-department/lcpd-transparency/records-se... (page title: Records Section | The City of Las Cruces), phone 575-528-4128, 217 E Picacho Ave. Las Cruces, NM 88001, Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (575) 524-6370, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the District Court for Doña Ana County, through the court records page at donaana.nm.publicsearch.us.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at donaana.gov (page title: Dona Ana County, NM).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
The Doña Ana County guide covers every agency in the county: Doña Ana County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Las Cruces each year?
Las Cruces reported 2,631 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Las Cruces?
Ask the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at apps.donaanacounty.org/www/inmates.
Where are people arrested in Las Cruces booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Las Cruces?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Doña Ana County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Inspection of Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Las Cruces?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Las Cruces police for its own arrests, the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Inspection of Public Records Act the answer is due within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at donaana.gov.
Is this the official Las Cruces website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.