Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2023. 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 26, 2026.
Buellton, California, in Santa Barbara County, has about 5,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held 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, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Buellton public records, Santa Barbara County arrest records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Buellton
The FBI lists Buellton with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Buellton Police Department. It reported 102 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 2,465 arrests for 2023.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Santa Barbara County: Union Pacific Railroad in Santa Barbara County (other); Allan Hancock College and the University of California at Santa Barbara (campus police); the Highway Patrol's Santa Barbara, Buellton and Santa Maria Area Offices (state police).
How Many Arrests Buellton Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Buellton: 102 for 2023, 172 for 2022, 244 for 2020 and 208 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Buellton's 102 arrests in 2023 were down 41 percent from 172 in 2022.
Across Santa Barbara County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 8,240 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Buellton Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Buellton is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
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 sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Buellton
An arrest in Buellton can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: 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 Buellton
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 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 Buellton police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofbuellton.com/about/buellton-police-stats (page title: City of Buellton Police Stats | City of Buellton California), phone 805-692-5743, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 805-683-2724.
- 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 the court records page at santabarbara.courts.ca.gov.
- Your own statewide record: a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR, $25.
The Santa Barbara County guide covers every agency in the county: Santa Barbara County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Buellton each year?
Buellton reported 102 arrests to the FBI for 2023, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Buellton?
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 Buellton booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Buellton?
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 Buellton?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Buellton police for its own arrests, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. 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 Buellton 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.