In a county that prides itself on law and order, a quiet but deeply troubling question is emerging: Why doesn’t Shawnee County report every arrest to the public?
For months, This Is Topeka has reviewed daily booking logs released by the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office. These logs are supposed to provide a transparent snapshot of who is being arrested and for what. But we’ve received credible information—and reviewed internal inconsistencies—that suggest not all arrests are being listed.
We asked the Sheriff’s Office directly: Why are some arrests missing?
So far, no answer.
Hidden in Plain Sight
The booking report is a foundational tool of public transparency. It lets journalists, attorneys, families, and watchdogs track who’s being detained, for what, and when. But when that report becomes selective, or worse, curated, we lose the ability to ask necessary questions—or to even know what’s happening behind the walls of the county jail.
And it raises a chilling concern: Are people being disappeared from our communities without notice?
ICE Detentions, Unlisted Holds, and Silent Transfers
Across the country, immigrant rights groups have sounded alarms about local jails cooperating with ICE in secret, facilitating arrests and transfers without public knowledge.
Is Shawnee County doing the same?
A pattern is emerging: domestic battery arrests listed as “no bond” without explanation. Arrests that result in no court date, no bond hearing, no public trace. Individuals who are picked up—and then vanish from public view.
Even if ICE is involved, Kansas law requires that arrest records be made public under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA). Holding people in jail while hiding their arrest undermines the rule of law—and public trust.
What Happens in the Dark
In an era where families are torn apart by detention and deportation, and where growing numbers of citizens are demanding accountability from law enforcement, Shawnee County appears to have created a loophole: by simply omitting certain names from the record, the public has no way to know who is in custody, who has been transferred, or whether due process is being respected.
This lack of transparency doesn’t just affect immigrants—it affects all of us.
Who decides which names get published and which don’t? What criteria are used? Why is Sheriff Brian Hill’s office refusing to explain?
We Deserve Answers
We are calling on the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and Shawnee County District Court to clarify:
- Are any arrests being omitted from the public booking log?
- If so, why?
- How many individuals have been booked and held in 2024 but never listed?
- Is there collaboration with ICE to withhold information from the public?
We are also filing a formal Kansas Open Records Act request for all booking entries over the past 90 days—including those not published online—and any correspondence or internal policies related to booking log omissions.
When People Vanish, We Must Ask Why
This isn’t about politics. It’s about transparency, accountability, and the right of every Topekan to know what their government is doing—especially when that government has the power to lock people up.
If Shawnee County is facilitating quiet detentions and invisible arrests, then the public is entitled to know. And if ICE is operating in our jails without scrutiny, we must demand to see what they’re doing—before more of our neighbors disappear behind closed doors, undocumented in every sense of the word.
If you or someone you know has experienced a Shawnee County arrest that wasn’t listed publicly, we want to hear from you. Contact [email protected]
