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.
San Miguel County, New Mexico, has about 26,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office, one city agency and one campus 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 San Miguel 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: San Miguel County public records, New Mexico arrest records, New Mexico inmate search and New Mexico criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in San Miguel County
The San Miguel County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for San Miguel County. It reported 41 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in San Miguel County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Las Vegas, 12,711 residents: 618 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 San Miguel County: New Mexico Highlands University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in San Miguel 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.
- Las Vegas: 618 for 2025, 538 for 2024, 749 for 2023, 794 for 2022, 312 for 2021 and 400 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- San Miguel County Sheriff's Office: 41 for 2025, 72 for 2024, 40 for 2022 and 0 for 2019; 2020, 2021 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 659 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 659 in 2025 against 610 in 2024, up 8 percent.
Through May 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 199 arrests, against 291 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in San Miguel County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in San Miguel 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 89 people, up from about 79 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 135 beds, and it ran at 58 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 San Miguel County Sheriff's Office at co.sanmiguel.nm.us/departments/sheriffs_office/index.php (page title: San Miguel County NM), phone (505) 425-7589, 1224 Railroad Ave. Las Vegas, NM 87701, Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., 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 San Miguel County
For San Miguel County the place to look is the case index of the District Court for San Miguel County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/court-dockets/san-m...).
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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (505) 425-7589.
- An arrest in Las Vegas: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by New Mexico Highlands University: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the District Court for San Miguel County, through the court records page at fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in San Miguel County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in San Miguel County: Las Vegas. Pecos has 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 District Court for San Miguel County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in San Miguel County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Las Vegas (12,711)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in San Miguel County each year?
Las Vegas reported 618 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 659 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in San Miguel County?
Ask the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office at (505) 425-7589; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.sanmiguel.nm.us.
Where are people arrested in San Miguel County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in San Miguel County?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for San Miguel 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 San Miguel County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the San Miguel 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 San Miguel 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.