Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.
Santa Barbara County, California, has about 444,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, eight city agencies and six campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the booking at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Santa Barbara County public records, California arrest records, California inmate search and California criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Santa Barbara County
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Santa Barbara County.
The FBI lists eight cities in Santa Barbara County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Santa Maria, 111,346 residents.
- Santa Barbara, 87,291 residents.
- Lompoc, 43,594 residents.
- Goleta, 32,611 residents.
- Carpinteria, 12,876 residents.
- Guadalupe, 8,735 residents.
- Solvang, 5,988 residents.
- Buellton, 5,023 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Santa Barbara County: Union Pacific Railroad: Santa Barbara County (other); Allan Hancock College and University of California: Santa Barbara (campus police); Highway Patrol: Santa Barbara Area Office, Highway Patrol: Buellton Area Office and Highway Patrol: Santa Maria Area Office (state police).
Booking: Where People Arrested in Santa Barbara County Are Held
A person held after an arrest in Santa Barbara County is booked into the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The booking record, with the charges, is the first public record of the arrest; once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 770 people, down from about 950 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 915 beds, and it ran at 86 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office at sbsheriff.org/command-and-divisions/custody-operations/south-county... (page title: Jail Information | Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office), phone 805-683-2724, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Santa Barbara County
Whether someone was arrested in Santa Barbara County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at santabarbara.courts.ca.gov/online-services/case-records-search/case...); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at da.countyofsb.org, phone (805) 568-2300).
California does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the California Department of Justice goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Santa Barbara County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the California Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances, and it may charge the direct cost of copying only, not staff time.
- An arrest by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 805-683-2724.
- An arrest in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Goleta, Carpinteria or Guadalupe or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Union Pacific Railroad: Santa Barbara County, Allan Hancock College or Highway Patrol: Santa Barbara Area Office: that agency's own records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (805) 568-2300, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, through its records page at santabarbara.courts.ca.gov.
- Your own statewide record: a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR, $25.
The other Santa Barbara County guides go further: warrants, inmate search, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, DUI, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Santa Barbara County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the eight cities in Santa Barbara County: Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Goleta, Carpinteria, Guadalupe, Solvang and Buellton.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, the booking is at the county jail and the case goes to the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Santa Barbara County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Santa Maria (111,346)
- Lompoc (43,594)
- Goleta (32,611)
- Solvang (5,988)
- Buellton (5,023)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Santa Barbara County?
Ask the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office at 805-683-2724; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sbsheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Santa Barbara County booked?
In the county jail, run by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
Are arrest records public in Santa Barbara County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the California Department of Justice is not public; you can get your own for $25. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the California Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Santa Barbara County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the California Public Records Act the answer is due within 10 days, with up to 14 more days in unusual circumstances.
Is this the official Santa Barbara County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.