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 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Washington County, Iowa, has about 23,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 County Attorney files charges, a case in the Iowa District Court for Washington County. 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, Iowa arrest records, Iowa inmate search and Iowa 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 190 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Washington County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Washington, 7,281 residents: 176 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Washington County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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: 190 for 2025, 195 for 2024, 212 for 2023, 254 for 2022, 202 for 2021 and 233 for 2020.
- Washington: 176 for 2025, 208 for 2024, 203 for 2023, 263 for 2022, 154 for 2021 and 159 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 366 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 366 in 2025 against 403 in 2024, down 9.2 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 232 arrests, against 203 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.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 55 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 74 beds, and it ran at 74 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 Washington County Sheriff's Office at washingtoncounty.iowa.gov/m/directory/department?did=6 (page title: Staff Directory, Sheriff), phone 319-653-2107, 2181 Lexington Boulevard P.O. Box 6 Washington, IA 52353, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Iowa Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
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 case index of the Iowa District Court for Washington County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/district-court/judicial-district-8/distr..., phone 319-653-7741); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtoncounty.iowa.gov/150/Attorney, phone 319-653-7784).
Statewide, Iowa Courts Online is the Iowa Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
Iowa is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can request a name-based criminal history check online, through the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 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 Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22) the agency must answer without delay; the law sets no fixed number of days, and a delay past 20 days must be justified, and it may charge the actual cost of copying and retrieval.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 319-653-2107.
- An arrest in Washington: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 319-653-7784, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Washington County, through the court records page at iowacourts.gov, phone 319-653-7741.
- 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 nine cities in Washington County: Washington. Kalona, Wellman, Riverside, Brighton, Ainsworth, Crawfordsville, West Chester and Coppock 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 Iowa District Court for Washington County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported 190 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 366 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Ask the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 319-653-2107; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washingtoncounty.iowa.gov.
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 Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation: anyone can request a name-based criminal history check online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22).
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 Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22) the answer is due without delay; the law sets no fixed number of days, and a delay past 20 days must be justified.
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.