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, Maine, has about 31,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office and five 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Washington County Superior Court. 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, Maine arrest records, Maine inmate search and Maine 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 521 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Calais, 3,105 residents: 43 arrests reported for 2025.
- Eastport, 1,292 residents: 17 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.
- Washington County Sheriff's Office: 521 for 2025, 446 for 2024, 410 for 2023, 258 for 2022, 168 for 2020 and 316 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Baileyville: 64 for 2025, 64 for 2024, 38 for 2023, 16 for 2021, 18 for 2020 and 19 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Machias: 52 for 2025, 34 for 2024, 48 for 2023, 49 for 2022, 6 for 2021 and 60 for 2020.
- Calais: 43 for 2025, 75 for 2024, 85 for 2023, 87 for 2022, 66 for 2021 and 165 for 2020.
- Eastport: 17 for 2025, 6 for 2024, 13 for 2023, 3 for 2022, 16 for 2020 and 27 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Milbridge: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 0 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 0 for 2021 and 0 for 2020.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 697 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 697 in 2025 against 625 in 2024, up 12 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Washington County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 42 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 42 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 County Sheriff's Office at washingtoncountymaine.com/sherifs-office (page title: Sheriff’s Office | Washington County Maine), phone 207-255-4422, 83 Court St. Machias, ME 04654, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Maine Department of Corrections lists its inmates at apps1.web.maine.gov/online/correctionssearch.
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 County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.maine.gov/ecourts/access.html); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtoncountymaine.com/district-attorney, phone 207-255-4425).
Maine is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: conviction records are public and can be requested on anyone by name, through the Maine State Police State Bureau of Identification. 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 Maine Freedom of Access Act the agency must answer within a reasonable time, after acknowledging the request within 5 working days, and it may charge staff time after the first two hours, plus copying.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 207-255-4422.
- An arrest in Calais or Eastport: 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, 207-255-4425, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington County Superior Court, through the court records page at courts.maine.gov/ecourts/access.html.
- 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 every one of the two cities in Washington County: Calais and Eastport. The FBI's list also carries the Baileyville Police Department, the Milbridge Police Department and the Machias Police Department as city agencies in Washington County; Baileyville, Milbridge and Machias are not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Washington County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported 521 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 697 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Ask the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 207-255-4422; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washingtoncountymaine.com/sherifs-office.
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 Maine State Police State Bureau of Identification: conviction records are public and can be requested on anyone by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Maine Freedom of Access 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 Maine Freedom of Access Act the answer is due within a reasonable time, after acknowledging the request within 5 working days.
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.