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). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Washington County is held at the county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Washington County public records, Washington County arrest records, Washington County warrants, Washington County criminal records, Washington County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Washington County
The county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Washington County, from every agency.
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 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.
The Washington County Jail by the Numbers
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.
Washington County has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 9 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Washington County Jail
The Washington County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Nashville, Okawville and Irvington make the arrests that end in a booking in Washington County.
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.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Irvington's 1,152 for 2025, Nashville's 1,152 for 2025 and the Washington County Sheriff's Office's 108 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Washington County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,420 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Washington County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Washington County serves the sentence in a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate 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.
How many people are in the Washington County jail?
About 12 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 32 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Washington County go?
To a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
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.