Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 26, 2026.
Washington, North Carolina, in Beaufort County, has about 9,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city 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 Beaufort County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Washington public records, Beaufort County arrest records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Washington
The FBI lists Washington with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Washington Police Department. It reported 615 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,153 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Beaufort County: the State Park Rangers at Goose Creek (state agency); Beaufort County Community College (campus police); Beaufort County Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement (other).
How Many Arrests Washington Reports
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.
- Washington: 615 for 2025, 548 for 2024, 538 for 2023, 481 for 2022, 659 for 2021 and 621 for 2020.
Washington's 615 arrests in 2025 were up 12 percent from 548 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Washington reported 417 arrests, against 389 in the same months of 2025.
Across Beaufort County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,780 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Washington 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 52 people, down from about 71 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 85 beds, and it ran at 84 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 Beaufort County Sheriff's Office at beaufortcountysheriff.org/detention-center-services (page title: Use Detention Services | Beaufort County Sheriff's Office), phone (252) 946-7113, 210 N Market St Washington NC 27889, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, whose inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington
For Washington the place to look is the case index of the Beaufort County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at nccourts.gov/locations/beaufort-county).
Statewide, eCourts Portal is the North Carolina Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
North Carolina does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation 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
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the agency must answer as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Washington police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at washingtonnc.gov/departments/public_safety/police/contacts.php (page title: City of Washington, NC), phone (252) 946-1444, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (252) 946-7113.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Beaufort County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/beaufort-county.
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
The Beaufort County guide covers every agency in the county: Beaufort County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington each year?
Washington reported 615 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington?
Ask the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office at (252) 946-7113; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at beaufortcountysheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Washington booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Washington?
The court files of criminal cases in the Beaufort County Superior Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the North Carolina Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Washington?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Washington police for its own arrests, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the answer is due as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days.
Is this the official Washington website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.