Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Bethel Census Area, Alaska, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are made by the Alaska State Troopers or the city police, with one city agency reporting to the FBI. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at a facility of the Alaska Department of Corrections, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Alaska Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Bethel Census Area public records, Alaska arrest records, Alaska inmate search and Alaska criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Bethel Census Area
Alaska has no county sheriff with a patrol role. Arrests in Bethel Census Area are made by the Alaska State Troopers or the city police, and in Alaska the police for a given address is the city police inside a city with its own department and the Alaska State Troopers elsewhere.
One city in Bethel Census Area reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Bethel, 6,335 residents: 457 arrests reported for 2025.
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.
How Many Arrests Bethel Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Bethel: 457 for 2025, 748 for 2024, 435 for 2023, 398 for 2022, 636 for 2021 and 910 for 2020.
Bethel's 457 arrests in 2025 were down 39 percent from 748 in 2024.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Bethel Census Area Are Held
Alaska has no census area jails. A person held after an arrest in Bethel Census Area is in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections, which runs every jail and prison in the state, so one inmate lookup covers the whole state.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Bethel Census Area
Whether someone was arrested in Bethel Census Area, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Alaska Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.alaska.gov/courtdir/4be.htm, phone (907) 543-4419); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/DA-Bethel.html, phone (907) 543-2055).
Statewide, CourtView is the Alaska Court System's free statewide case search.
Alaska is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: name-based conviction records are open to anyone who asks, through the Alaska Department of Public Safety. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Bethel Census Area
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Alaska Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 working days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying and search time.
- An arrest in Bethel: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (907) 543-2055, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Alaska Superior Court, through the court records page at courts.alaska.gov/courtdir/4be.htm, phone (907) 543-4419.
- Any census area record that is not posted: the census area records request page SearchSystems verified is at cityofbethel.org/239/Public-Records-Requests (page title: Public Records Requests | Bethel, AK).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based or name-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in Bethel Census Area: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the 18 cities in Bethel Census Area: Bethel. Kwethluk, Quinhagak, Toksook Bay, Nunapitchuk, Aniak, Napaskiak, Chefornak, Akiak, Eek, Napakiak, Nightmute, Lower Kalskag and five more have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Bethel Census Area each year?
Bethel reported 457 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Bethel Census Area booked?
In a facility of the Alaska Department of Corrections, which runs every jail in Alaska.
Are arrest records public in Bethel Census Area?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Alaska Department of Public Safety: name-based conviction records are open to anyone who asks. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Alaska Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Bethel Census Area?
From the agency that made the arrest: in Alaska, the Alaska State Troopers or the city police. Under the Alaska Public Records Act the answer is due within 10 working days; the census area records request page SearchSystems verified is at cityofbethel.org/239/Public-Records-Requests.
Is this the official Bethel Census Area website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official census area, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.