Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Lea County, New Mexico, has about 75,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Lea County depends on where the incident happened: the Lea County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Inspection of Public Records Act requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Lea County public records, Lea County arrest records, Lea County warrants, Lea County inmate search, Lea County criminal records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Lea County
A crime, incident or collision report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court, the jail or the prosecutor.
In Lea County that is the Lea County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
Reports from the Lea County Sheriff's Office
The Lea County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 93 violent and 412 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 227 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at leacounty.gov/206/LCDC-Detainee-Roster (page title: LCDC Detainee Roster | Lea County, NM), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Lea County
The five cities the FBI lists in Lea County with a reporting agency of their own:
- Hobbs: 292 violent and 1,249 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,026 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lovington: 38 violent and 120 property crimes reported for 2025; 97 arrests reported for 2025.
- Eunice: 7 violent and 31 property crimes reported for 2025; 32 arrests reported for 2025.
- Jal: 1 arrests reported for 2024.
- Tatum: 0 arrests reported for 2019.
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.
How Many Reports: Lea County in 2025
The four agencies in Lea County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 430 violent and 1,812 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the four agencies in Lea County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,382 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Inspection of Public Records Act Requires
The Inspection of Public Records Act sets the rules: an answer within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days, at a charge of copying at no more than $1 a page, from the agency that holds the report.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Lea County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Lea County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Inspection of Public Records Act the answer is due within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days.
How long does an agency in Lea County have to answer?
Under the Inspection of Public Records Act, within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days. It may charge copying at no more than $1 a page.
How do I get a report from the Lea County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. Under the Inspection of Public Records Act the answer is due within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days.
Is this the official Lea 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.