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 2025. 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.
National City, California, in San Diego County, has about 58,000 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 San Diego. 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: National City public records, San Diego County arrest records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in National City
The FBI lists National City with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as National City Police Department. It reported 1,594 arrests for 2025. 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 San Diego County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 4,913 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in San Diego County: San Diego State University, San Diego Community College, California State University at San Marcos, the University of California at San Diego and two more (campus police); the Port of San Diego Harbor (other); California State Parks at Colorado Desert, California State Parks at Ocotillo Wells, California State Parks at San Diego Coast and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection at San Diego (state agency); the Highway Patrol's Border Division, San Diego, Oceanside and El Cajon Area Offices, the Highway Patrol's Border Investigative Services Unit, the Highway Patrol at Otay Mesa Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility and the Highway Patrol at San Onofre Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility (state police).
How Many Arrests National City 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.
- National City: 1,594 for 2025, 1,428 for 2024, 1,324 for 2023, 1,287 for 2022, 1,486 for 2021 and 1,997 for 2020.
National City's 1,594 arrests in 2025 were up 12 percent from 1,428 in 2024.
Through September 2026, National City reported 1,149 arrests, against 1,205 in the same months of 2025.
Across San Diego County, the 15 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 51,876 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in National City Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in National City 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 4,410 people, down from about 6,280 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 6,180 beds, and it ran at 71 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 National City
For National City the place to look is the case index of the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at sdcourt.ca.gov/sdcourt/generalinformation/accesscourtrecords).
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 National City
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 National City police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at nationalcityca.gov/government/police/divisions/records (page title: Records | National City, CA), phone (619) 336-4400, 1200 National City Boulevard, National City, CA 91950, Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the San Diego County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, through the court records page at sdcourt.ca.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at pra.sandiegocounty.gov (page title: Public Records Request CenterNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- Your own statewide record: a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR, $25.
The San Diego County guide covers every agency in the county: San Diego County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in National City each year?
National City reported 1,594 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in National City booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the San Diego County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in National City?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego 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 National City?
From the agency that made the arrest: the National City police for its own arrests, the San Diego 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at pra.sandiegocounty.gov.
Is this the official National City 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.