When adults are arrested in Harper County on felony or misdemeanor charges, they are booked at this facility:
311 SE 1st Street
Buffalo, OK 73834
Most Oklahoma county jails are run by the sheriff, though a few are operated by a county jail trust or authority. Deputies bring their arrests here, and so do municipal police departments without their own jail, tribal and campus officers in some areas, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Jail staff take fingerprints and a mugshot, catalog property, search for warrants and perform a medical screening before housing.
Federal agencies, among them the U.S. Marshals and ICE, also book people into jails across Oklahoma.
Our arrest list is pulled from the sheriff’s or jail’s official booking list (opens in a new tab) or an official statewide jail list. Where the agency publishes them, booking photos appear with each charge and the arresting agency. For details that are missing or unclear, call the Harper County Jail at 580-735-2213.
It can take two hours or the better part of a day for someone to move from the Harper County Jail sally port to a housing unit or out on release, depending on the backlog in booking.
Oklahoma law requires that an arrested person be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay, and anyone held after a warrantless arrest must receive a judge’s probable cause finding within 48 hours. For many charges, the county’s bond schedule lets a person bond out before seeing a judge; others must wait for a bond hearing. Judges may also allow release on personal recognizance. Licensed bail bondsmen are common in Harper County and are regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department. See our Bail page for release instructions.
Oklahoma is among the states most involved in immigration enforcement. Nearly 100 municipal, county and state agencies in Oklahoma have 287(g) agreements with ICE, and every Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper has been deputized for immigration duties. The jail in Harper County routinely honors ICE detainers, so a person with an immigration hold may be turned over to ICE instead of being released on bond.
Call the jail directly at 580-735-2213 to ask whether the person has been booked and what their bond is, if one has been set.
The line may route you through an automated search or to a detention officer. Have the person’s date of birth handy, because staff often ask for it before releasing any information.
Newly arrested people sometimes take several hours to appear in the system, particularly when the jail is busy.
To search online instead, use the Harper County Jail Booking Roster.
After the arrest and any Miranda warning, officers transport the person to a city jail or straight to the county jail serving Harper County to be booked.
Booking involves a number of steps. A defense lawyer will almost always advise the person not to talk about the alleged crime, since anything said to officers or on a jail phone can be recorded and used by prosecutors.
The person is photographed, fingerprinted and questioned about their history and health. Oklahoma law calls for a DNA sample from adults arrested for a felony when they are booked into jail, though the sample is analyzed only if certain conditions, such as a probable cause finding, are met. Warrant checks run through Harper County, statewide and national systems.
For a DUI arrest, refusing a breath or blood test can lead to loss of driving privileges, and officers generally need a warrant to draw blood without consent.
A pat search and a pass through a metal detector or body scanner are standard, and a strip search may be done before the person is moved to housing.
The booking officer asks about medications, health conditions, drug and alcohol use, allergies, suicidal thoughts, tattoos and gang connections. These questions help staff assign a cell safely and identify anyone who needs medical, mental health or detox attention.
Jail staff collect and inventory the person’s belongings and keep them until release. If the person approves, a family member or friend may be able to pick up some items, such as keys or a phone.
Property taken includes clothing, money, wallets, purses, phones, jewelry, body piercings and watches. Shoelaces are taken out, and glasses may be held if they are considered a risk.
The person is typically allowed a phone call to tell family or a friend about the arrest and get help arranging bond or bail.
Those who stay in custody until court are issued a jail uniform, slip-on shoes, a blanket, sheets, a towel and hygiene items by the Harper County Jail.
Before housing, many jails require a shower and may treat new arrivals for lice or scabies.
Booking may be over in an hour or last a full day or more, depending on how many arrests arrive at once, staffing and the person’s behavior.
A person who is extremely intoxicated or aggressive may be kept in a holding cell for several hours before officers can finish.