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 October 4, 2026.
Washington County, Florida, has about 27,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 State Attorney files charges, a case in the Washington County Circuit Court. 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: Washington County public records, Florida arrest records, Florida inmate search and Florida criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Washington County
The Washington County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Washington County. It reported 386 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Washington County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Chipley, 3,741 residents: 274 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 Washington County: the Highway Patrol in Washington County (state police); the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Washington County, the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Washington County, the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Washington County, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Washington and one more (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Washington 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.
- Washington County Sheriff's Office: 386 for 2025, 412 for 2023 and 272 for 2022; 2024 is missing months.
- Chipley: 274 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 660 arrests that year.
Through June 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 239 arrests, against 372 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Washington 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.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 110 people on an average day, down from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 186 beds, and it ran at 73 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at townofgreenwood.org/pt1_type/washington-county-jail (page title: Washington County Jail Inmate Search, Visitation, Mugshots | Records Search), phone 850.638.6110, 711 Third Street Chipley, FL 32428, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Florida Department of Corrections lists its inmates at fdc.myflorida.com.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington County
Whether someone was arrested in Washington County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the State Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jud14.flcourts.org/state-attorney).
Florida is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24 a search, through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Washington 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 Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the agency must answer promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the copy fees set by statute, plus a special service charge for large requests.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 850.638.6110.
- An arrest in Chipley: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Highway Patrol in Washington County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Washington County or the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Washington County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at wcsoe.gov/public-records-request (page title: Public Records Request | Washington County (FL) Supervisor of Elections).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Washington County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the five cities in Washington County: Chipley. Vernon, Wausau, Caryville and Ebro 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 Washington County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported 386 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 660 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Look on the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at townofgreenwood.org, or call 850.638.6110. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Washington County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Washington County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Washington County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Washington County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the answer is due promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at wcsoe.gov/public-records-request.
Is this the official Washington 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.