SearchSystems Editorial

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 30, 2026.

About this guide

Marin County, California, has about 256,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Marin County Sheriff's Office, nine city agencies and three 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 Marin. 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: Marin County public records, California arrest records, California inmate search and California criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Marin County

The Marin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Marin County. It reported 874 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year.

Arrests inside eight 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:

  • San Rafael, 59,961 residents: 1,661 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Novato, 52,311 residents: 1,018 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Mill Valley, 13,904 residents: 111 arrests reported for 2023.
  • Tiburon, 8,933 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Fairfax, 7,476 residents: 77 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Sausalito, 7,075 residents: 74 arrests reported for 2022.
  • Ross, 2,297 residents: 8 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Belvedere, 2,080 residents: 0 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 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 Each Agency Reports in Marin County

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.
  • Novato: 1,018 for 2025, 1,072 for 2024, 1,102 for 2023, 810 for 2022, 1,481 for 2020 and 1,681 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Central Marin: 370 for 2025, 359 for 2024, 455 for 2023, 412 for 2022, 525 for 2020 and 888 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Fairfax: 77 for 2025, 101 for 2024, 99 for 2023, 114 for 2022, 148 for 2020 and 210 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Ross: 8 for 2025, 8 for 2024, 6 for 2023, 12 for 2022, 18 for 2020 and 9 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Tiburon: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 48 for 2023, 58 for 2022, 73 for 2020 and 41 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Belvedere: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 3 for 2023, 5 for 2022, 5 for 2020 and 7 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Marin County Sheriff's Office: 874 for 2023, 1,404 for 2022, 1,342 for 2020 and 1,338 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Mill Valley: 111 for 2023, 132 for 2022, 144 for 2020 and 235 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
  • Sausalito: 74 for 2022, 139 for 2020 and 205 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.

Together, the seven agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,134 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,134 in 2025 against 2,746 in 2024, up 14 percent.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Marin County Are Held

The county jail is where a person arrested in Marin County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.

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 Marin County

Whether someone was arrested in Marin County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: 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 Marin 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 Marin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (415) 473-6653.
  • An arrest in San Rafael, Novato, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Fairfax, Sausalito or another of the cities listed above: 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 Union Pacific Railroad in Marin County, Marin Community College or the Highway Patrol's Marin Area Office: the records office of the agency involved.
  • 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.

Cities in Marin County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for eight of the 11 cities in Marin County: San Rafael, Novato, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Fairfax, Sausalito, Ross and Belvedere. Larkspur, San Anselmo and Corte Madera have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Central Marin Police Department as a city agency in Marin County; Central Marin is not among the cities above.

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 Marin.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Marin 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 Marin County each year?

San Rafael reported 1,661 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the seven agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,134 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Marin County?

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 Marin County 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 Marin County?

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 Marin County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Marin 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 marincountyca.nextrequest.com.

Is this the official Marin 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.