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 on September 24, 2026.
McKinley County, New Mexico, has about 69,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the McKinley County Sheriff's Office and one city 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the District Court for McKinley 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: McKinley County public records, New Mexico arrest records, New Mexico inmate search and New Mexico criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in McKinley County
The McKinley County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for McKinley County. It reported 225 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in McKinley County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Gallup, 20,339 residents: 1,470 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Arrests Each Agency Reports in McKinley County
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.
- Gallup: 1,470 for 2024, 1,521 for 2023, 1,385 for 2022, 1,051 for 2021, 1,297 for 2020 and 2,421 for 2019.
- McKinley County Sheriff's Office: 225 for 2025, 306 for 2024, 165 for 2023, 165 for 2022, 145 for 2021 and 63 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 1,776 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 1,776 in 2024 against 1,686 in 2023, up 5.3 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in McKinley County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in McKinley 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 2023 the jail held about 130 people, down from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 328 beds, and it ran at 41 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 McKinley County Sheriff's Office at co.mckinley.nm.us/165/Sheriffs-Office (page title: McKinley County Sheriff's Office | McKinley County, NM), phone 505-863-1410, 1000 East Aztec Ave Gallup, NM 87301, Monday-Friday 8:00 am- 5:00 pm., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the New Mexico Corrections Department lists its inmates at cd.nm.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in McKinley County
Whether someone was arrested in McKinley County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the District Court for McKinley County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.mckinley.nm.us/190/County-Clerk, phone 505-863-6866); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at gallupnm.gov/146/City-Attorney, phone (505) 863-1400).
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 McKinley 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 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 McKinley County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 505-863-1410.
- An arrest in Gallup: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (505) 863-1400, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the District Court for McKinley County, through the court records page at co.mckinley.nm.us/190/County-Clerk, phone 505-863-6866.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in McKinley County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Gallup, the one city in McKinley County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the District Court for McKinley County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in McKinley County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Gallup (20,339)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in McKinley County each year?
Gallup reported 1,470 arrests to the FBI for 2024, and the two agencies with every month of 2024 on file reported 1,776 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in McKinley County?
Ask the McKinley County Sheriff's Office at 505-863-1410; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.mckinley.nm.us/165/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in McKinley County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McKinley County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in McKinley County?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for McKinley 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 McKinley County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the McKinley 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.
Is this the official McKinley 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.