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 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Arcata, California, in Humboldt County, has about 19,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Arcata is held at the county jail, run by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Arcata public records, Humboldt County inmate search, Arcata arrest records, Arcata warrants, Arcata criminal records, Arcata court records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Arcata
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Arcata is held at the county jail, run by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office at humboldtgov.org/331/Jail-Reports (page title: Jail Reports | Humboldt County, CA), phone (707) 441-5159, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at (707) 441-5159.
The Humboldt County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 320 people, down from about 400 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 418 beds, and it ran at 95 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Humboldt County has about 132,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 24 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Humboldt County Jail
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Arcata (filed by the FBI as Arcata Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Arcata.
The FBI's agency list also places one campus police department, one other agency, two state agencies and two state police units in Humboldt County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office's 1,843 for 2025, Eureka's 1,770 for 2025 and Arcata's 1,072 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Humboldt County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,197 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Arcata arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Humboldt County serves the sentence in a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Arcata?
Ask the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office at (707) 441-5159; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at humboldtgov.org/331/Jail-Reports.
How many people are in the Humboldt County jail?
About 320 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 418 beds.
What is the phone number for the Humboldt County jail?
(707) 441-5159, the number on the page of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Humboldt County go?
To a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; its inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
Is this the official Arcata website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.