Search Kern County 24 Hour Booking

Kern County 24 hour booking records give you access to recent arrest and jail data from one of California's largest counties. The Kern County Sheriff runs an inmate search tool on its website where you can look up who has been booked into the county jail. This free search covers all arrests processed through the Kern County detention system, including those made by city police in Bakersfield and other local agencies. Booking records update throughout the day. You can check the system at any time to see the latest arrest entries for Kern County.

Kern County Booking Search Portal

The Kern County Sheriff's Office provides a public inmate search at kernsheriff.org/Inmate_Search. This is the primary tool for looking up 24 hour booking records in Kern County. The site itself notes that California Government Code Section 7923.610 requires them to make arrest information available to the public. The Kern County Sheriff takes this seriously and posts booking data for all current inmates.

To search, enter a name into the inmate search form. The system returns results from the Kern County jail database. Each entry shows the person's name, booking number, charges, bail amount, and current status. You can see if someone is still in custody or if they have been released. The Kern County inmate search is free to use. It does not need a login. The data covers everyone currently booked into the main jail at 1350 Norris Road in Bakersfield as well as other detention facilities in the county.

For phone inquiries about Kern County bookings, call (661) 391-7500. Staff can look up records for you if you have a name or booking number.

How Kern County Processes Arrests

Kern County stretches from the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley up into the Tehachapi Mountains and across parts of the Mojave Desert. It is the third largest county in California by area. Arrests happen across this wide region every day. When someone is arrested in Kern County, the arresting agency transports them to a county detention facility for booking. The main jail sits in Bakersfield. The Lerdo Justice Facility north of Bakersfield also processes bookings.

During booking, jail staff record the person's identity, take a photo, and log all charges. They set bail according to the Kern County bail schedule. This information becomes the booking record. It gets entered into the jail management system and then shows up in the online inmate search. The whole process can take a few hours depending on how busy the facility is. Kern County handles a high volume of arrests given its population of over 900,000 people, so new bookings appear in the system throughout the day and night.

City police departments in places like Bakersfield, Ridgecrest, Tehachapi, and Wasco make arrests that flow into the Kern County jail system. The county sheriff also makes arrests in unincorporated areas. All of these end up in the same Kern County booking database.

Kern County Arrest Record Details

Each Kern County booking entry includes the information that state law says must be public. That means you can see the full name of the person, their date of birth, and a physical description. The record shows when the arrest happened and when booking was completed. It lists every charge, including felonies, misdemeanors, and any holds from other jurisdictions or parole violations.

Kern County booking records typically include:

• Full name and date of birth of the arrested person
• Date and time of arrest and booking
• All charges at the time of booking
• Bail amount for each charge
• Arresting agency name
• Current custody status or release date

The arresting agency field is helpful in Kern County because so many different departments operate in the area. You might see entries from the Bakersfield Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Kern County Sheriff, or federal agencies. All get processed through the same Kern County booking system.

Kern County Public Records Law

Booking records are public in California. The California Public Records Act makes this clear. You do not need to explain why you want the data. Anyone can search Kern County booking records for any reason. The online inmate search is the fastest way to get this information. It costs nothing and works at all hours.

For older Kern County booking records that are not in the online system, you can submit a records request to the Sheriff's Office. Mail it to 1350 Norris Road, Bakersfield, CA 93308, or call (661) 391-7500. Under state law, the agency has 10 days to decide whether to release the records. The California DOJ public records page outlines the full process and your rights. Copying fees are generally 10 cents per page, though Kern County may charge differently depending on the format you need.

People who were arrested but not convicted can petition a court to seal their arrest record under Penal Code Section 851.91. Sealed records are removed from the Kern County booking database and will not appear in any public search.

Note: The Kern County inmate search shows current inmates and recent bookings only, not a complete historical archive.

Kern County Arrest Statistics

The California Department of Justice tracks arrest data for every county through its OpenJustice data portal. You can pull up Kern County numbers to see how many arrests happen each year and how they break down by offense type. This is useful for context beyond the daily booking log.

The screenshot above shows the statewide data portal where Kern County arrest trends are available. For real-time booking lookups, use the Kern County Sheriff's inmate search instead.

Kern County Jail Contact Info

The main Kern County jail is at 1350 Norris Road, Bakersfield, CA 93308. Call (661) 391-7500 to ask about a booking, check on someone in custody, or get information about bail and visiting hours. The Lerdo Justice Facility is another detention site in the county and can be reached through the same main number. Kern County jail staff can confirm whether a person has been booked and what their current status is.

If you need to file a formal records request, address it to the Kern County Sheriff's Office at the same location. Include the person's name and approximate date of arrest to help staff find the right booking record. Copies of booking documents are available for a small fee. Walk-in requests at the jail lobby are also accepted during regular hours.

Cities in Kern County

Kern County includes the city of Bakersfield, which is the county seat and the only city over 100,000 in population. Arrests by the Bakersfield Police Department get booked into the Kern County jail system.

Nearby California Counties

These counties border Kern County. Each has its own jail booking search.