Arapahoe County, Colorado: Administration, Jail, Clerk of Court, Sheriff’s Office

Arapahoe County’s detention facility began as a single-room jailhouse in Littleton back in 1865. Today, the operation it grew into books more than 2,500 people a year, houses over 1,100 inmates at any given time, and has been continuously accredited by the American Correctional Association since 1991. Arapahoe County, one of the Denver metro area’s largest counties by population and home to Aurora, Centennial, and Littleton among its eleven cities and towns, is worth understanding on its own terms. Here’s how the county’s administration, jail, courts, and sheriff’s office actually work.

Arapahoe County Quick Facts

A County of Eleven Cities With a Five-Commissioner Board

Arapahoe County spans roughly 805 square miles stretching from dense urban corridors along I-25 to lower-density land bordering Elbert County to the southeast. It’s governed by a five-member Board of County Commissioners serving staggered four-year terms, handling policy and budget for a county operation with more than 2,070 employees and a $366 million annual budget. Several officers — the Assessor, Clerk and Recorder, Coroner, Sheriff, Treasurer, and District Attorney — are elected independently by voters, with each operating under statutory independence; the Sheriff, notably, is not subordinate to the Board on law enforcement matters.

The county includes Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, Sheridan, Centennial, Cherry Hills Village, Columbine Valley, Bow Mar, Foxfield, Glendale, and Greenwood Village — a genuinely large number of separate municipal governments packed into one county.

A few structural basics:

• The Board of County Commissioners handles administration and budget from the Administration Building in Littleton, the county seat
• The Clerk and Recorder administers all federal, state, and local elections, processing ballots for more than 400,000 active registered voters under Colorado’s mail-ballot system
• Municipal police departments, including Aurora Police, operate independently within their own city boundaries

The Sheriff’s Office: Patrol, Detention, and Fire Warden Duties

Sheriff Tyler S. Brown leads the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, which provides law enforcement for the City of Centennial and unincorporated Arapahoe County, operates the county’s Detention Facility, and — a duty that surprises people unfamiliar with rural Colorado sheriff roles — serves as the county’s Fire Warden. The office is organized into three bureaus: Detention Services, Public Safety, and Support Services.

Core responsibilities include:

• Patrol and law enforcement for the City of Centennial and unincorporated county areas
• Operating the Arapahoe County Detention Facility
• Fire Warden duties for Arapahoe County
• Civil process service through the Civil Section (720-874-3845)
• Records management, including criminal justice records tied to cases and bookings

Because Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, and most other Arapahoe County cities run their own independent police departments, the Sheriff’s Office patrol jurisdiction is genuinely narrower than in many counties — centered specifically on Centennial and unincorporated land, while the detention and fire warden functions extend county-wide.

Inside the Detention Facility

The current Arapahoe County Detention Facility opened in 1987 at 7375 South Potomac Street — now part of Centennial — as a 299,241-square-foot building with 404 beds. Two additional housing units were added starting in 1999, with occupancy beginning in late 2001 and early 2002, expanding the facility’s capacity significantly. The medical unit has held National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) accreditation since 1989, and the overall facility has held American Correctional Association (ACA) accreditation since 1991.

For anyone trying to locate or support someone in custody:

• Search by inmate name (no inmate number required) through the Sheriff’s Office online jail roster
• Visitation runs in 30-minute sessions scheduled according to the inmate’s housing unit — call 720-874-3500 to make an appointment before visiting
• Commissary funds can be deposited via onsite kiosk (cash, credit, or debit) or other approved methods
• Inmates can make calls to an approved list of friends and family, but not to unapproved numbers
• Mail should be addressed to: Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility, P.O. Box 4918, Centennial, CO 80155-4918

An Important Records Distinction

The Sheriff’s Office Records Unit, staffed Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., manages criminal justice records pertaining to cases and bookings — but explicitly does not maintain court dispositions. If you need to know how a case was resolved rather than just the arrest record, you’ll need to contact the Clerk of the Court separately, since Arapahoe County government itself doesn’t provide court documents or records at all — those route through the Colorado Judicial Branch’s own systems, not county government.

A few practical points:

• Records requests to the Sheriff’s Office must go through its dedicated records portal, not the county’s generic open records form
• Auto accident reports require 7–10 days from the incident date before they’re available for purchase
• A records fee schedule explains how charges are calculated for different record types

Before You Visit

• Bring valid, government-issued photo ID to any county building, courthouse, or the Detention Facility
• Confirm whether you need the Sheriff’s Office (bookings, arrest records) or the Colorado Judicial Branch (court case outcomes, dispositions) — county government does not handle court records directly
• Call 720-874-3500 in advance to schedule any Detention Facility visit rather than dropping by unannounced
• Confirm which municipal police department covers your specific city before contacting the Sheriff’s Office for a non-jail matter

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How do I find out if someone is in the Arapahoe County Detention Facility?

Use the Sheriff’s Office online jail roster, searching by the inmate’s name — no inmate number is required. Call 720-874-3500 to schedule a 30-minute visitation slot in advance, since visits are organized by housing unit rather than walk-in access.

Q2. Where do I find out how a criminal case was resolved, not just the arrest record?

Contact the Clerk of the Court through Colorado’s Judicial Branch directly. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Records Unit maintains booking and case records but explicitly does not have court dispositions, and Arapahoe County government as a whole does not provide court documents.

Q3. Does the Arapahoe County Sheriff cover Aurora or Littleton?

No. The Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement specifically for the City of Centennial and unincorporated Arapahoe County. Aurora, Littleton, Englewood, and most of the county’s other cities operate their own independent police departments.

Q4. How do I deposit money into an inmate’s commissary account?

Friends and family can use the onsite kiosk at the Detention Facility, which accepts cash, credit, and debit cards. Check the facility’s official website for any additional remote deposit options before visiting in person.