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 on September 23, 2026.

About this guide

San Diego County, California, has about 3.3 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, 18 city agencies and 18 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 San Diego. 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: San Diego County public records, California arrest records, California inmate search and California criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in San Diego County

The San Diego County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for San Diego County. It reported 4,913 arrests for 2025.

The FBI lists 18 cities in San Diego County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported, the largest twelve first; the rest are named in the cities section below:

  • San Diego, 1,404,452 residents: 22,407 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Chula Vista, 278,546 residents: 3,871 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Oceanside, 170,941 residents: 3,143 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Escondido, 148,847 residents: 4,830 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Carlsbad, 113,575 residents: 1,752 arrests reported for 2025.
  • El Cajon, 103,291 residents: 3,246 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Vista, 99,322 residents: 1,670 arrests reported for 2025.
  • San Marcos, 96,620 residents: 946 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Encinitas, 61,137 residents: 1,057 arrests reported for 2024.
  • La Mesa, 60,767 residents: 1,802 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Santee, 59,104 residents: 744 arrests reported for 2025.
  • National City, 58,460 residents: 1,594 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 San Diego County: San Diego State University, San Diego Community College, California State University at San Marcos, the University of California at San Diego and two more (campus police); the Port of San Diego Harbor (other); California State Parks at Colorado Desert, California State Parks at Ocotillo Wells, California State Parks at San Diego Coast and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection at San Diego (state agency); the Highway Patrol's Border Division, San Diego, Oceanside and El Cajon Area Offices, the Highway Patrol's Border Investigative Services Unit, the Highway Patrol at Otay Mesa Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility and the Highway Patrol at San Onofre Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility (state police).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in San Diego 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 Diego: 22,407 for 2025, 21,495 for 2024, 20,290 for 2023, 21,670 for 2022, 24,298 for 2021 and 40,737 for 2020.
  • San Diego County Sheriff's Office: 4,913 for 2025, 7,207 for 2024, 8,196 for 2023, 12,102 for 2022, 20,556 for 2021 and 14,535 for 2020.
  • Escondido: 4,830 for 2025, 4,545 for 2024, 4,274 for 2023, 4,542 for 2022, 3,702 for 2021 and 7,090 for 2020.
  • Chula Vista: 3,871 for 2025, 3,659 for 2024, 3,268 for 2023, 3,354 for 2022, 3,769 for 2021 and 4,755 for 2020.
  • El Cajon: 3,246 for 2025, 3,303 for 2024, 2,749 for 2023, 3,207 for 2022, 3,331 for 2021 and 6,991 for 2020.
  • Oceanside: 3,143 for 2025, 2,811 for 2024, 3,201 for 2023, 3,598 for 2022, 3,580 for 2021 and 8,953 for 2020.
  • La Mesa: 1,802 for 2025, 1,426 for 2024, 1,344 for 2023, 1,141 for 2022, 1,255 for 2021 and 1,613 for 2020.
  • Carlsbad: 1,752 for 2025, 2,260 for 2024, 2,480 for 2023, 2,856 for 2022, 3,697 for 2021 and 2,871 for 2020.
  • Vista: 1,670 for 2025, 2,620 for 2024, 2,609 for 2023, 2,354 for 2022, 1,931 for 2021 and 3,262 for 2020.
  • National City: 1,594 for 2025, 1,428 for 2024, 1,324 for 2023, 1,287 for 2022, 1,486 for 2021 and 1,997 for 2020.
  • San Marcos: 946 for 2025, 1,359 for 2024, 1,464 for 2023, 1,698 for 2022, 1,318 for 2021 and 2,149 for 2020.
  • Santee: 744 for 2025, 1,049 for 2024, 1,116 for 2023, 1,009 for 2022, 996 for 2021 and 1,865 for 2020.

Together, the 15 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 51,876 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 51,876 in 2025 against 54,283 in 2024, down 4.4 percent.

Through September 2026, the 14 agencies with every month so far on file reported 38,673 arrests, against 38,189 in the same months of 2025.

Poway, Encinitas, Imperial Beach and Del Mar reported only part of 2025 (11 months, 11 months, 10 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in San Diego County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in San Diego 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 4,410 people, down from about 6,280 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 6,180 beds, and it ran at 71 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.

How to Find Out About an Arrest in San Diego County

For San Diego County the place to look is the case index of the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at sdcourt.ca.gov/sdcourt/generalinformation/accesscourtrecords).

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 Diego 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 San Diego County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
  • An arrest in San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad, El Cajon 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 San Diego State University, the Port of San Diego Harbor or California State Parks at Colorado Desert: the records office of the agency involved.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, through the court records page at sdcourt.ca.gov.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at pra.sandiegocounty.gov (page title: Public Records Request CenterNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
  • Your own statewide record: a Record Review through Live Scan fingerprinting, form BCIA 8016RR, $25.

Cities in San Diego County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the 18 cities in San Diego County: the twelve named above and Poway, Lemon Grove, Imperial Beach, Coronado, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

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 San Diego.

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

San Diego reported 22,407 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 15 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 51,876 between them.

Where are people arrested in San Diego County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the San Diego County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in San Diego County?

The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego 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 Diego County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the San Diego 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 pra.sandiegocounty.gov.

Is this the official San Diego 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.