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, Missouri, has about 24,000 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, Missouri arrest records and Missouri inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Washington County
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, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at wcso.net/arrests/intake.php (page title: Recent Arrests), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Washington County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 61 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 28 beds, and it ran at 218 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Washington County has about 24,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 26 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Washington County Jail
The Washington County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Potosi make the arrests that end in a booking in Washington County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Potosi's 312 for 2024 and the Washington County Sheriff's Office's 162 for 2023.
Together, the two agencies in Washington County with all twelve months of 2023 on file reported 527 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
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Missouri Department of Corrections lists its inmates at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Washington County?
Ask the Washington County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wcso.net/arrests/intake.php.
How many people are in the Washington County jail?
About 61 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 28 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Washington County go?
To a facility of the Missouri Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
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.