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 on September 23, 2026.
Humboldt County, California, has about 132,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, five city agencies and six 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt. 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: Humboldt County public records, California arrest records, California inmate search and California criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Humboldt County
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Humboldt County. It reported 1,843 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside five of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Eureka, 25,412 residents: 1,770 arrests reported for 2025.
- Arcata, 18,748 residents: 1,072 arrests reported for 2025.
- Fortuna, 12,114 residents: 381 arrests reported for 2025.
- Rio Dell, 3,259 residents: 110 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ferndale, 1,361 residents: 21 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 Humboldt County: California State Polytechnic University at Humboldt (campus police); Union Pacific Railroad in Humboldt County (other); California State Parks at North Coast Redwoods and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection at Humboldt (state agency); the Highway Patrol's Humboldt and Garberville Area Offices (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Humboldt 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.
- Humboldt County Sheriff's Office: 1,843 for 2025, 1,071 for 2024, 1,280 for 2023, 1,596 for 2022, 1,878 for 2020 and 2,063 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Eureka: 1,770 for 2025, 1,679 for 2024, 1,610 for 2023, 3,322 for 2022, 5,438 for 2020 and 4,534 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Arcata: 1,072 for 2025, 1,186 for 2024, 654 for 2023, 843 for 2022, 855 for 2020 and 1,550 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Fortuna: 381 for 2025, 436 for 2024, 470 for 2023, 525 for 2022, 874 for 2020 and 905 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Rio Dell: 110 for 2025, 110 for 2024, 134 for 2023, 200 for 2022, 311 for 2020 and 218 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Ferndale: 21 for 2025, 33 for 2024, 37 for 2023, 44 for 2022, 69 for 2020 and 39 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,197 arrests that year. The five of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,354 in 2025 against 3,444 in 2024, down 2.6 percent.
Through August 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 3,321 arrests, against 3,449 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Humboldt County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Humboldt County 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 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.
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.
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 Humboldt County
For Humboldt County the place to look is the case index of the Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at humboldt.courts.ca.gov/case-record-request-form).
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 Humboldt County
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 Humboldt County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (707) 441-5159.
- An arrest in Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna, Rio Dell or Ferndale: 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 California State Polytechnic University at Humboldt, Union Pacific Railroad in Humboldt County or California State Parks at North Coast Redwoods: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt, through the court records page at humboldt.courts.ca.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at humboldtgov.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.
Cities in Humboldt County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for five of the seven cities in Humboldt County: Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna, Rio Dell and Ferndale. Blue Lake and Trinidad 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 Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Humboldt County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Humboldt County each year?
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office reported 1,843 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 5,197 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Humboldt County?
Ask the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office at (707) 441-5159; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at humboldtgov.org/331/Jail-Reports.
Where are people arrested in Humboldt County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Humboldt County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt 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 Humboldt County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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 humboldtgov.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official Humboldt 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.