Brown County Background Information
Kansas is the home to 105 counties, including Brown County. Hiawatha is the current Brown County seat. There were 9,508 occupants in Brown County back in 2020.
It was formed in 1855.
It was named for Albert G. Brown. He was Governor of Mississippi from 1844 to 1848 and the Democratic United States Senator from Mississippi from 1854 to 1861, when he withdrew during secession.
Brown County Arrest Records
Arrest records are kept for all crimes across Brown County and Kansas as a whole. Brown County crimes are broken into two different classifications. These two sections are property crime and violent crime. Property crimes are made up of larceny, motor vehicle theft, and burglary. Violent crimes include things such as murder, robbery, forcible rape, and aggravated assault. Back in 2021, there were 4 violent and 94 property crimes in Brown County. Brown County Sheriff’s Office can be contacted at:
Brown County Sheriff’s Office
John Merchant, Sheriff
709 Utah Street
Hiawatha, KS 66434
Phone: (785) 742-7125
Fax: (785) 742-3058
Email: John.Merchant@brownso.org
Brown County Criminal Records
Brown County records their criminal activity in the form of criminal records. These records cover murders, rapes, burglaries, arson, motor vehicle theft, assaults, and crimes of a sexual nature. In Brown County, there is an up-to-date register containing all sex offenders. Sex offenders living, at work, in school, or in prison in Brown County are included on this list. All Brown County residents are granted access to this list.
Every resident in Brown County can search for nearby sex offenders. Users can search using a zip code and a radius. There is also an option to search for individual offenders by name. The searches also include any offender currently incarcerated or non-compliant.
Every last criminal record is regularly updated in Brown County. Criminal records are found in Brown County. Residents of Brown County can use a search tool in order to access the records in question. Brown County residents can also use this tool to lookup any nearby prisoner.
Brown County Court Records
Each and every court record in Brown County is handled by the court clerk. Brown County residents can access court records in-person at:
Brown County Courthouse
Joy Moore, Clerk
601 Oregon Street # 301
P.O. Box 417
Hiawatha, KS 66434
Phone: (785) 742-7481
Fax: (785) 742-3506
Email: joy.moore@kscourts.org
In Kansas, the Court of Appeals oversees any lower court case in which one party contests a decision made. These lower courts are made up of the 105 superior or trial courts found across the state's 105 counties, including Brown County.
NOTE - Standard court records are supplied via one of three ways once payment has been made in Brown County. These three ways are email, mail, or fax. Then again, official documents may only be sent by means of mail-in Brown County.
Brown County Public Records
Vital records are kept on each individual in America, including Brown County. In fact, Brown County, along with the other Kansas counties, is in command of acquiring some of these documents and forwarding them to the state government. These records include but are not limited to birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, marriage licenses, death certificates, divorce certificates, and much more.
For example, in the state of Kansas, all marriage records are compiled by the relevant county clerks. Copies of every last vital record are then sent to the Office of Vital Statistics. Birth and death records have also been compiled by county clerks in the past. All Brown County records, as well as every other county's, are located in one central registry. They can then be used in the future for statistical analysis.
The Kansas Open Records Act, passed in 1976, means that all Brown County citizens can access and copy all vital public records. Any public records, both state and local, can be accessed thanks to the Kansas Open Records Act 1976. The Kansas Open Records Act 1976 was amended back in 1994. In order to attain a public record, residents in Brown County must enquire at:
Brown County Clerk’s Office
Dawn Boyles, County Clerk
601 Oregon Street
Suite 206
Hiawatha, KS 66434
Phone: (785) 742-2581
Fax: (785) 740-6622
Unfortunately, records come with a cost in Brown County. Birth record first copies will set a person back $15 in Brown County. In Brown County, all death records cost $15 for the first initial copy. In Brown County, all marriage records cost $15 for the first initial copy.
NOTE - A requester must stick to a number of rules in Brown County if they wish to receive records in-person. Firstly, the office is only open from Monday to Friday between 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (until 5:00 p.m. for research) CST. The requester in question must also be able to show a photo ID. Acceptable photo IDs include driver's licenses and state IDs. All Brown County public record requests must also be put into writing.
