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, North Carolina, has about 11,000 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, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Washington County
The county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Washington County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at washington-nc.com/north-carolina/washington-county (page title: Washington County Sheriff, NC, Jail Inmate Search, Recent Arrests), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Washington County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 15 people, down from about 23 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 30 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Washington County has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 14 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 Plymouth make the arrests that end in a booking in Washington County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Washington County: the State Park Rangers at Pettigrew (state agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Plymouth's 92 for 2025 and the Washington County Sheriff's Office's 87 for 2024.
Together, the two agencies in Washington County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 262 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
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Washington County 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Washington County?
Look on the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at washington-nc.com. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Washington County jail?
About 15 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 30 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Washington County go?
To a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; its inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov.
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.