Cherokee County
49,196 people, served by 5 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Cherokee County follows Oklahoma law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.
- Who decides release first
Before a person sees a judge, the jail may release on a bail schedule the district's presiding judge sets by order, and the sheriff may sign the release order where court rule allows. A judge sets or confirms bail at the first appearance or when charges are filed. Police and sheriffs may not release anyone arrested for domestic abuse, stalking, harassment, or a protective order violation until a judge sees them.
22 O.S. sec. 110522 O.S. sec. 1105.2 (in force until 2026-12-31)- Time to see a judge
A person arrested must be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. Oklahoma statute sets no hour limit.
22 O.S. sec. 181- Money bail
Oklahoma allows money bail, and each judicial district may adopt a money bail schedule that it reviews every year. Pretrial bail is set as a dollar amount.
22 O.S. sec. 1105.2 (in force until 2026-12-31)- Courts
The district court in each of the 77 counties hears almost all criminal cases, felonies and misdemeanors alike. District judges, associate district judges, and special judges all sit in the district court. City municipal courts hear violations of city ordinances.
Oklahoma County District Court, District Court11 O.S. sec. 27-103- Judges and magistrates
Voters elect district judges and associate district judges in nonpartisan elections for four-year terms, and the governor fills vacancies. The district judges appoint special judges, and a few special judges are not lawyers, who may hear only small misdemeanors. The mayor appoints municipal judges for two-year terms; most must be lawyers.
Oklahoma County District Court, District Court20 O.S. secs. 121.1, 122, 12311 O.S. sec. 27-104
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Some of this is medium confidence and still being checked. SB 1618 (2026) rewrites 22 O.S. 1105.2 from 2027-01-01; recheck first_bail, money_bail, and pretrial_assessment then. Whether the Oklahoma County jail trust has been dissolved was not confirmed. Oklahoma's district court is a single general trial court; only municipal courts sit below it.
What this county does differently
Nothing county-specific yet
Cities and towns
- Tahlequah16,935
- Fort Gibson town3,808
- Hulbert town444
- Oaks town295
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Cherokee County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
- Cherokee County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police31,023 served
- Tahlequah Police DepartmentCity police department17,540 served
- Fort Gibson Police DepartmentCity police department3,815 served
- Hulbert Police DepartmentCity police department498 served
- Northeastern State University: TahlequahCollege or university police
Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.
Crime
The crime index
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Per 100k | Oklahoma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 121 | 79 | 71 | 92 | 96 | 188 | 426 |
| Murder | 1 | 3 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 6.4 | |||
| Rape | 25 | 14 | 22 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 63 |
| Robbery | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 8.6 | 39 |
| Aggravated assault | 89 | 59 | 43 | 77 | 80 | 143 | 318 |
| Property crime | 677 | 679 | 476 | 676 | 590 | 1,272 | 2,191 |
| Burglary | 158 | 139 | 79 | 85 | 90 | 226 | 468 |
| Larceny | 398 | 440 | 332 | 523 | 436 | 874 | 1,446 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 121 | 100 | 65 | 68 | 64 | 172 | 277 |
| Arson | 8 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 5 | 20 | 18 |
Outside the crime index
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Per 100k | Oklahoma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All offenses outside the crime index | 1,220 | 1,115 | 1,093 | 1,036 | 987 | 2,237 | 3,337 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 371 | 379 | 405 | 478 | 472 | 864 | 1,234 |
| Vandalism | 197 | 130 | 127 | 128 | 117 | 287 | 503 |
| Fraud | 43 | 60 | 77 | 86 | 63 | 135 | 417 |
| Drug abuse violations | 444 | 399 | 334 | 185 | 196 | 640 | 708 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 70 | 66 | 48 | 59 | 67 | 127 | 134 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 56 | 43 | 45 | 12 | 14 | 70 | 72 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 9 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 68 |
| Embezzlement | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 45 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 20 | 13 | 18 | 33 | 11 | 39 | 63 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 2 | 1 | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 7.6 | ||
| Other Group A offenses | 7 | 14 | 23 | 36 | 28 | 44 | 84 |
| Manslaughter by negligence (not in the total) | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.6 |
Offenses agencies in Cherokee County reported to the FBI in incident detail (NIBRS), each year, the second table by the arrest class each offense falls in. Per 100k: offenses per 100,000 people the reporting agencies police, 2021 to 2025 added together, beside Oklahoma's rate over the same years. Agencies that reported part of a year are counted with their people, as the state's rates count them. – means too few for a rate: the count is under 20.
Source: FBI NIBRS national master files, each agency's offenses and the FBI's population for it. Oklahoma: the crime index: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CrimeDB's chosen value per year (the state page's figures); outside it: FBI NIBRS, agencies that sent incident detail.