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 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Elko County, Nevada, has about 54,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Elko County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and one state 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 Elko 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: Elko County public records, Nevada arrest records, Nevada inmate search and Nevada criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Elko County
The Elko County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Elko County. It reported 373 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Elko County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Elko, 20,822 residents: 434 arrests reported for 2025.
- West Wendover, 4,528 residents: 109 arrests reported for 2025.
- Carlin, 2,000 residents: 54 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 Elko County: Nevada Gaming Control Board in Elko County (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Elko 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.
- Elko: 434 for 2025, 437 for 2024, 565 for 2023, 550 for 2022, 650 for 2021 and 951 for 2020.
- Elko County Sheriff's Office: 373 for 2025, 358 for 2023, 433 for 2022, 429 for 2021, 468 for 2020 and 828 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- West Wendover: 109 for 2025, 121 for 2024, 134 for 2023, 159 for 2022, 201 for 2021 and 251 for 2020.
- Carlin: 54 for 2025, 47 for 2023, 69 for 2022, 66 for 2021, 85 for 2020 and 170 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 970 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 543 in 2025 against 558 in 2024, down 2.7 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 585 arrests, against 560 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Elko County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Elko 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 2019 the jail held about 190 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 176 beds, and it ran at 107 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 Elko County Sheriff's Office at elkosheriff.com (page title: Elko County Sheriff's Office (NV)), phone (775) 738-3421, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Nevada Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.nv.gov/offender-info.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Elko County
For Elko County the place to look is the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at elkocountynv.net/new_page/district_attorney/index.php, phone 775-738-3101).
Nevada does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Nevada Department of Public Safety Records, Communications and Compliance Division 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 Elko County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Nevada Public Records Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying; staff time only for extraordinary requests.
- An arrest by the Elko County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (775) 738-3421.
- An arrest in Elko, West Wendover or Carlin: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Nevada Gaming Control Board in Elko County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 775-738-3101, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at elkocountynv.net (page title: Elko County, NV).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Records Bureau.
Cities in Elko County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the four cities in Elko County: Elko, West Wendover and Carlin. Wells 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 Elko County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Elko County each year?
Elko reported 434 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 970 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Elko County?
Ask the Elko County Sheriff's Office at (775) 738-3421; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at elkosheriff.com.
Where are people arrested in Elko County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Elko County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Elko County?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Elko County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Nevada Department of Public Safety Records, Communications and Compliance Division is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Nevada Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Elko County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Elko County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Nevada Public Records Act the answer is due within 5 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at elkocountynv.net.
Is this the official Elko 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.