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 23, 2026.
Karnes County, Texas, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Karnes County Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. 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 Karnes County District Court. 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: Karnes County public records, Texas arrest records, Texas inmate search and Texas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Karnes County
The Karnes County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Karnes County. It reported 89 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Karnes City, 3,620 residents: 65 arrests reported for 2025.
- Kenedy, 3,378 residents: 59 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Karnes 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.
- Karnes County Sheriff's Office: 89 for 2025, 9 for 2024, 7 for 2023, 38 for 2022, 20 for 2021 and 16 for 2020.
- Karnes City: 65 for 2025, 98 for 2023, 115 for 2022, 159 for 2021, 190 for 2020 and 156 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Kenedy: 59 for 2025, 60 for 2024, 49 for 2023, 42 for 2022, 84 for 2021 and 64 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 213 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 148 in 2025 against 69 in 2024, up 114 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 152 arrests, against 135 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Karnes County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Karnes 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.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 550 people on an average day, up from about 450 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 600 beds, and it is running at 92 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Karnes County Sheriff's Office at co.karnes.tx.us/page/karnes.Sheriff (page title: Karnes County, Texas), phone (830) 780-3931, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, whose inmate locator is at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Karnes County
Whether someone was arrested in Karnes County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Karnes County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at 81-218.txcourts.gov/dockets); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.karnes.tx.us/page/karnes.District.Attorney, phone 830-393-2200).
Texas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Conviction Database search lets anyone look up convictions and deferred adjudications by name, for $3 a search, through the Texas Department of Public Safety. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Karnes 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 Texas Public Information Act the agency must answer within 10 business days, and it may charge the copy rates set by the Attorney General, plus labor for large requests.
- An arrest by the Karnes County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (830) 780-3931.
- An arrest in Karnes City or Kenedy: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 830-393-2200, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Karnes County District Court, through the court records page at 81-218.txcourts.gov/dockets.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in Karnes County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Karnes County: Karnes City and Kenedy. Runge and Falls City have 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 Karnes County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Karnes County each year?
The Karnes County Sheriff's Office reported 89 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 213 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Karnes County?
Ask the Karnes County Sheriff's Office at (830) 780-3931; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.karnes.tx.us/page/karnes.Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Karnes County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Karnes County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Karnes County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Texas Department of Public Safety: the Conviction Database search lets anyone look up convictions and deferred adjudications by name, for $3. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Texas Public Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Karnes County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Karnes County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Texas Public Information Act the answer is due within 10 business days.
Is this the official Karnes 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.