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. 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 between September 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Washington County, Arkansas, has about 266,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, 11 city agencies and three campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Washington County Circuit 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: Washington County public records, Arkansas arrest records, Arkansas inmate search and Arkansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Washington County
The Washington County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Washington County. It reported 625 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists 11 cities in Washington County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Fayetteville, 103,134 residents: 2,757 arrests reported for 2025.
- Springdale, 89,368 residents: 3,520 arrests reported for 2025.
- Farmington, 10,473 residents: 630 arrests reported for 2025.
- Prairie Grove, 8,589 residents: 196 arrests reported for 2025.
- Tontitown, 7,941 residents: 334 arrests reported for 2025.
- Elkins, 4,025 residents: 68 arrests reported for 2025.
- Johnson, 3,705 residents: 577 arrests reported for 2025.
- Goshen, 2,383 residents: 49 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lincoln, 2,371 residents: 124 arrests reported for 2025.
- West Fork, 2,356 residents: 57 arrests reported for 2025.
- Greenland, 1,240 residents: 11 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.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Washington County: the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (campus police); the State Park at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park and the State Park at Devil's Den State Park (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Washington County
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.
- Springdale: 3,520 for 2025, 2,866 for 2024, 4,051 for 2023, 4,177 for 2022, 6,915 for 2021 and 6,177 for 2020.
- Fayetteville: 2,757 for 2025, 3,507 for 2024, 3,219 for 2023, 3,008 for 2022, 2,340 for 2021 and 2,465 for 2020.
- Farmington: 630 for 2025, 651 for 2024, 682 for 2023, 633 for 2022, 743 for 2021 and 603 for 2020.
- Washington County Sheriff's Office: 625 for 2025, 688 for 2024, 762 for 2023, 897 for 2022, 914 for 2021 and 1,035 for 2020.
- Johnson: 577 for 2025, 575 for 2024 and 535 for 2023.
- Tontitown: 334 for 2025, 372 for 2024, 326 for 2023 and 250 for 2022.
- Prairie Grove: 196 for 2025, 188 for 2024, 258 for 2023, 192 for 2022, 186 for 2021 and 250 for 2020.
- Lincoln: 124 for 2025, 83 for 2024, 96 for 2023, 84 for 2022, 114 for 2021 and 123 for 2020.
- Elkins: 68 for 2025, 78 for 2024, 113 for 2023, 94 for 2021, 65 for 2020 and 83 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- West Fork: 57 for 2025, 72 for 2024, 110 for 2023, 219 for 2022, 151 for 2021 and 149 for 2020.
- Goshen: 49 for 2025, 40 for 2024, 21 for 2023 and 32 for 2022.
- Greenland: 11 for 2025, 16 for 2024, 61 for 2023, 18 for 2022, 15 for 2021 and 22 for 2020.
Together, the 12 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,948 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 8,948 in 2025 against 9,136 in 2024, down 2.1 percent.
Through June 2026, the nine agencies with every month so far on file reported 4,480 arrests, against 4,196 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Washington County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 780 people, up from about 690 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 568 beds, and it ran at 137 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 Washington County Sheriff's Office at washingtoncountyar.gov/government/departments-f-z/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Washington County, AR), phone (479) 444-5700, 1155 W. Clydesdale Drive Fayetteville, AR 72701, Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Arkansas Division of Correction lists its inmates at doc.arkansas.gov/correction/online-services.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington County
Whether someone was arrested in Washington County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Washington County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtoncountyar.gov/government/departments-f-z/prosecuting-attorney, phone (479) 444-1570).
Statewide, CourtConnect is the Arkansas Judiciary's free statewide case search.
Arkansas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the state runs an online name-based background check open to the public, through the Arkansas State Police. 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 Washington 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 Arkansas Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 3 working days when the record is not immediately available, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (479) 444-5700.
- An arrest in Fayetteville, Springdale, Farmington, Prairie Grove, Tontitown, Elkins 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 the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the State Park at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park or the State Park at Devil's Den State Park: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (479) 444-1570, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington County Circuit Court, through the court records page at caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Arkansas State Police Identification Bureau.
Cities in Washington County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 11 of the 13 cities in Washington County: Fayetteville, Springdale, Farmington, Prairie Grove, Tontitown, Elkins, Johnson, Goshen, Lincoln, West Fork and Greenland. Elm Springs and Winslow have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Washington County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Washington County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Fayetteville (103,134)
- Farmington (10,473)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
Springdale reported 3,520 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 12 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 8,948 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Ask the Washington County Sheriff's Office at (479) 444-5700; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washingtoncountyar.gov.
Where are people arrested in Washington County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Washington County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Arkansas State Police: the state runs an online name-based background check open to the public. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Washington County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Washington County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 3 working days when the record is not immediately available.
Is this the official Washington 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.