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.
Nevada County, California, has about 102,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and four 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 Nevada. 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: Nevada County public records, California arrest records, California inmate search and California criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Nevada County
The Nevada County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Nevada County. It reported 555 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Truckee, 17,240 residents: 317 arrests reported for 2025.
- Grass Valley, 14,085 residents: 577 arrests reported for 2025.
- Nevada City, 3,195 residents: 160 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 Nevada County: Union Pacific Railroad in Nevada County (other); the Highway Patrol's Truckee and Grass Valley Area Offices and the Highway Patrol at Donner Pass Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Nevada 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.
- Grass Valley: 577 for 2025, 657 for 2024, 623 for 2023, 631 for 2022, 1,259 for 2020 and 1,662 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Nevada County Sheriff's Office: 555 for 2025, 537 for 2024, 398 for 2023, 335 for 2022, 664 for 2020 and 1,125 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Truckee: 317 for 2025, 285 for 2024, 327 for 2020 and 326 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Nevada City: 160 for 2025, 223 for 2024, 176 for 2023, 222 for 2022, 368 for 2020 and 467 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,609 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,609 in 2025 against 1,702 in 2024, down 5.5 percent.
Through March 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 398 arrests, against 368 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Nevada County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Nevada 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 170 people, down from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 283 beds, and it ran at 55 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 Nevada County
For Nevada County the place to look is the case index of the Superior Court of California, County of Nevada, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at nevada.courts.ca.gov/online-services/web-portal).
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 Nevada 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 Nevada County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Truckee, Grass Valley or Nevada City: 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 Nevada County, the Highway Patrol's Truckee and Grass Valley Area Offices or the Highway Patrol at Donner Pass Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of California, County of Nevada, through the court records page at nevada.courts.ca.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at nevadacountyca.gov/894/Public-Records-Request (page title: Public Records Request | Nevada County, CA).
- Your own statewide record: a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR, $25.
Cities in Nevada County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the three cities in Nevada County: Truckee, Grass Valley and Nevada City.
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 Nevada.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Nevada County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Truckee (17,240)
- Grass Valley (14,085)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Nevada County each year?
Grass Valley reported 577 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,609 between them.
Where are people arrested in Nevada County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Nevada County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of Nevada 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 Nevada County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Nevada 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 nevadacountyca.gov/894/Public-Records-Request.
Is this the official Nevada 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.