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 23, 2026.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has about 563,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Lancaster County depends on where the incident happened: the Lancaster 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 Right-to-Know Law 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: Lancaster County public records, Lancaster County arrest records, Lancaster County warrants, Lancaster County inmate search, Lancaster County property records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Lancaster 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 Lancaster County that is the Lancaster 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.
The FBI's list also places the Lancaster County State Police in Lancaster County; a report taken on a state highway by it comes from that agency's own records office.
The FBI's agency list also places two campus police departments, one other agency and three state agencies in Lancaster County, each with a records office of its own.
Reports from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 1 violent and 0 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 48 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit, reached through the office at 717-299-7800. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at co.lancaster.pa.us/756/Whos-In-Jail (page title: Who's In Jail? | Lancaster County, PA), phone 717-299-7800, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Lancaster County
The 13 cities the FBI lists in Lancaster County with a reporting agency of their own, the largest twelve first:
- Lancaster: 219 violent and 808 property crimes reported for 2025; 3,133 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lancaster (township).
- Ephrata: 8 violent and 227 property crimes reported for 2025; 424 arrests reported for 2025.
- Elizabethtown: 17 violent and 70 property crimes reported for 2025; 245 arrests reported for 2025.
- Columbia: 19 violent and 132 property crimes reported for 2025; 282 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lititz: 115 arrests reported for 2024.
- Millersville: 0 violent and 49 property crimes reported for 2025; 152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Mount Joy: 2 violent and 19 property crimes reported for 2025; 162 arrests reported for 2024.
- Manheim (township): 34 violent and 474 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,852 arrests reported for 2025.
- Manheim: 15 violent and 48 property crimes reported for 2025; 215 arrests reported for 2025.
- Strasburg: 1 violent and 3 property crimes reported for 2025; 9 arrests reported for 2025.
- Quarryville: 0 violent and 11 property crimes reported for 2025; 135 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.
The rest: Christiana.
How Many Reports: Lancaster County in 2025
The 23 agencies in Lancaster County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 414 violent and 2,982 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the 18 agencies in Lancaster County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,587 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Right-to-Know Law Requires
The Right-to-Know Law sets the rules: an answer within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension, at a charge of copying at 25 cents a page, from the agency that holds the report.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at lancastercountypa.gov/FormCenter/Open-Records-9/County-of-Lancaster... (page title: Form Center, County of Lancaster Open Records Request Form).
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 717-299-8100, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Lancaster County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Right-to-Know Law the answer is due within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension.
How long does an agency in Lancaster County have to answer?
Under the Right-to-Know Law, within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension. It may charge copying at 25 cents a page.
Who has a crash report from a state highway in Lancaster County?
The state agency whose officer took it; the FBI lists the Lancaster County State Police in Lancaster County.
How do I get a report from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit, reached through the office at 717-299-7800. Under the Right-to-Know Law the answer is due within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension.
Is this the official Lancaster 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.