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, Illinois, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office and three city 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's Attorney files charges, a case in the Circuit Court of 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, Illinois arrest records, Illinois inmate search and Illinois 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 108 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Washington County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Nashville, 3,006 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Okawville, 1,347 residents: 8 arrests reported for 2025.
- Irvington, 566 residents: 1,152 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 Wamac Police Department and the Centralia Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Washington County, so their arrests are not broken out for Washington County here.
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.
- Irvington: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Nashville: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Washington County Sheriff's Office: 108 for 2025.
- Okawville: 8 for 2025, 9 for 2024, 7 for 2023, 0 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,420 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,312 in 2025 against 2,313 in 2024.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,237 arrests, against 1,409 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 2023 the jail held about 12 people, down from about 25 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 32 beds, and it ran at 38 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 news.washeriff.net/divisions/bookings (page title: Bookings | WCSO), 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 Illinois Department of Corrections lists its inmates at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington County
An arrest in Washington County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Circuit Court of Washington County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at washingtonco.illinois.gov/circuit-clerk, phone (618) 327-4800); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtonco.illinois.gov/states-attorney, phone (618) 327-4800).
Illinois is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: conviction information is public under the Uniform Conviction Information Act, through the Illinois State Police. 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 Illinois Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension, and it may charge copying only after the first 50 pages.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Nashville, Okawville or Irvington: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (618) 327-4800, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court of Washington County, through the court records page at washingtonco.illinois.gov/circuit-clerk, phone (618) 327-4800.
- Your own statewide record: a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Illinois State Police.
Cities in Washington County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the 12 cities in Washington County: Nashville, Okawville and Irvington. Hoyleton, Ashley, Addieville, Richview, Oakdale, Radom, Du Bois, New Minden and Venedy 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 Circuit Court of Washington County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
Irvington reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,420 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 news.washeriff.net/divisions/bookings. 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 Illinois State Police: conviction information is public under the Uniform Conviction Information Act. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
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 Illinois Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days, with one 5-day extension.
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.