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 September 30, 2026.
Washington County, Indiana, has about 28,000 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Washington Circuit and Superior Courts. 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, Indiana arrest records, Indiana inmate search and Indiana 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 146 arrests for 2025.
One city in Washington County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Salem, 6,463 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.
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.
- Salem: 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: 146 for 2025, 170 for 2024, 170 for 2023, 46 for 2022 and 54 for 2021.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,298 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,298 in 2025 against 1,322 in 2024, down 1.8 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 690 arrests, against 774 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 2024 the jail held about 130 people, down from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 254 beds, and it ran at 75 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Indiana Department of Correction lists its inmates at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington County
An arrest in Washington County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Washington Circuit and Superior Courts, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at in.gov/courts/local/washington-county); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtoncounty.in.gov/government/laws_courts_and_justice/washingt..., phone 812-883-6560).
Statewide, mycase.IN.gov is the Indiana courts' free statewide case search.
Indiana is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online, through the Indiana 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 Indiana Access to Public Records Act the agency must answer within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email, and it may charge a copy fee set by the agency, within statutory limits.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Salem: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 812-883-6560, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at in.gov/courts/local/washington-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at indy.gov/activity/request-a-public-record (page title: ).
- 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 six cities in Washington County: Salem. New Pekin, Campbellsburg, Little York, Livonia and Saltillo 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 Circuit and Superior Courts.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Washington County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Salem (6,463)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
Salem reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,298 between them.
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 Indiana State Police: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Indiana Access to Public Records 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 Indiana Access to Public Records Act the answer is due within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at indy.gov/activity/request-a-public-record.
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.