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 on September 30, 2026.
Washington Parish, Louisiana, has about 45,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the parish jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the District Court for Washington Parish. 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 Parish public records, Louisiana arrest records, Louisiana inmate search and Louisiana criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Washington Parish
The Washington Parish Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Washington Parish. It reported 738 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Washington Parish with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Bogalusa, 10,367 residents: 894 arrests reported for 2025.
- Franklinton, 3,592 residents: 346 arrests reported for 2019.
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 Parish
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.
- Bogalusa: 894 for 2025, 908 for 2024, 979 for 2023, 976 for 2022, 969 for 2021 and 1,402 for 2020.
- Washington Parish Sheriff's Office: 738 for 2025, 649 for 2024, 627 for 2023, 796 for 2022, 813 for 2021 and 1,347 for 2020.
- Franklinton: 346 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,632 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,632 in 2025 against 1,557 in 2024, up 4.8 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington Parish Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Washington Parish is held at the parish 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 25 people, down from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 25 beds, and it ran at 100 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 Parish Sheriff's Office at washington.lavns.org (page title: Washington Parish Jail), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections lists its inmates at doc.la.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington Parish
For Washington Parish the place to look is the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at brla.gov/m/directory/department?did=15, phone 225-389-3400).
Louisiana does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Washington Parish
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Louisiana Public Records Law the agency must answer within 3 business days when the record is not immediately available, and it may charge a reasonable fee for copies.
- An arrest by the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Bogalusa or Franklinton: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 225-389-3400, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
Cities in Washington Parish: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Washington Parish: Bogalusa and Franklinton. Varnado and Angie have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the parish the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the parish jail and the case goes to the District Court for Washington Parish.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington Parish each year?
Bogalusa reported 894 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,632 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington Parish?
Ask the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washington.lavns.org.
Where are people arrested in Washington Parish booked?
Those kept in custody go to the parish jail, run by the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Washington Parish?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Washington Parish are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Louisiana Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Washington Parish?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Louisiana Public Records Law the answer is due within 3 business days when the record is not immediately available.
Is this the official Washington Parish website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official parish, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.