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.
Modoc County, California, has about 8,500 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Modoc County Sheriff's Office, one city agency and two 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 Modoc. 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: Modoc County public records, California arrest records, California inmate search and California criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Modoc County
The Modoc County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Modoc County. It reported 146 arrests for 2025.
One city in Modoc County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Alturas, 2,652 residents: 148 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 Modoc County: Union Pacific Railroad in Modoc County (other); the Highway Patrol's Alturas Area Office (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Modoc 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.
- Alturas: 148 for 2025, 154 for 2024, 88 for 2023, 341 for 2020 and 325 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Modoc County Sheriff's Office: 146 for 2025, 167 for 2024, 166 for 2023, 83 for 2022, 171 for 2020 and 257 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 294 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 294 in 2025 against 321 in 2024, down 8.4 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 132 arrests, against 161 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Modoc County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Modoc 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 22 people, down from about 39 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 43 beds, and it ran at 91 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Modoc County
For Modoc County the place to look is the case index of the Superior Court of California, County of Modoc, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at portal.modoc.courts.ca.gov/public-portal/?q=Home).
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 Modoc County
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 Modoc County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Alturas: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Union Pacific Railroad in Modoc County or the Highway Patrol's Alturas Area Office: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of California, County of Modoc, through the court records page at portal.modoc.courts.ca.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at modoccountyca.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 Modoc County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Alturas, the one city in Modoc County.
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 Modoc.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Modoc County each year?
Alturas reported 148 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 294 between them.
Where are people arrested in Modoc County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Modoc County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Modoc County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Modoc 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 Modoc County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Modoc 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 modoccountyca.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official Modoc 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.