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 30, 2026.
San Rafael, California, in Marin County, has about 60,000 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 Marin. 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: San Rafael public records, Marin County arrest records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in San Rafael
The FBI lists San Rafael with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as San Rafael Police Department. It reported 1,661 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 Marin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 874 arrests for 2023.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Marin County: Union Pacific Railroad in Marin County (other); Marin Community College (campus police); the Highway Patrol's Marin Area Office (state police).
How Many Arrests San Rafael 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.
- San Rafael: 1,661 for 2025, 1,206 for 2024, 1,293 for 2023, 1,740 for 2022, 2,801 for 2020 and 3,060 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
San Rafael's 1,661 arrests in 2025 were up 38 percent from 1,206 in 2024.
Through August 2026, San Rafael reported 986 arrests, against 1,096 in the same months of 2025.
Across Marin County, the seven agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,134 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in San Rafael Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in San Rafael 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 260 people, down from about 280 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 386 beds, and it ran at 65 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 Marin County Sheriff's Office at marinsheriff.gov/about-us/detention-bureau (page title: Detention Bureau | Marin County Sheriff), phone (415) 473-6653, 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 San Rafael
An arrest in San Rafael can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Superior Court of California, County of Marin, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at marin.courts.ca.gov/divisions/court-records-exhibits, phone (415) 444-7080); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at marincountyda.org/our-team, phone (415) 473-6450).
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 San Rafael
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 San Rafael police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at cityofsanrafael.org/city-of-san-rafael-statement-regarding-public-r... (page title: City of San Rafael Statement Regarding Public Records Release | San Rafael), phone 415.485.3000, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Marin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (415) 473-6653.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (415) 473-6450, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of California, County of Marin, through the court records page at marin.courts.ca.gov, phone (415) 444-7080.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at marincountyca.nextrequest.com (page title: Open Public RecordsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- Your own statewide record: a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR, $25.
The Marin County guide covers every agency in the county: Marin County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in San Rafael each year?
San Rafael reported 1,661 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in San Rafael?
Ask the Marin County Sheriff's Office at (415) 473-6653; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at marinsheriff.gov/about-us/detention-bureau.
Where are people arrested in San Rafael booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Marin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in San Rafael?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Marin 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 San Rafael?
From the agency that made the arrest: the San Rafael police for its own arrests, the Marin 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 marincountyca.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official San Rafael 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.