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, Ohio, has about 58,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, five city agencies and one campus agency. 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. 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, Ohio arrest records, Ohio inmate search and Ohio 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 380 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists five cities in Washington County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Marietta, 13,039 residents: 188 arrests reported for 2025.
- Belpre, 6,588 residents: 46 arrests reported for 2024.
- Beverly, 1,209 residents: 9 arrests reported for 2022.
- Matamoras (New Matamoras), 685 residents.
- Lowell, 548 residents.
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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Washington County: Marietta College (campus police).
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: 380 for 2025, 362 for 2022, 391 for 2021, 351 for 2020 and 393 for 2019; 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- Marietta: 188 for 2025, 223 for 2024, 251 for 2023, 195 for 2022, 252 for 2021 and 255 for 2020.
- Belpre: 46 for 2024, 103 for 2022, 97 for 2021, 119 for 2020 and 116 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
- Beverly: 9 for 2022.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2022 on file reported 669 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2022 and 2021 complete reported 660 in 2022 against 740 in 2021, down 11 percent.
Matamoras (New Matamoras) and Lowell reported only part of 2022 (2 months and 1 month) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Washington County 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 2023 the jail held about 94 people, down from about 110 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 94 beds, and it ran at 113 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 washingtoncountysheriff.org/corrections (page title: Corrections | Ensure Community Safety | Washington County Sheriff's Office-Ohio), phone 866-345-1884, 205 Putnam Street, Marietta, OH 45750, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, whose inmate locator is at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington County
For Washington County the place to look is the case index of the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at washingtongov.org/250/Clerk-of-Courts, phone (740) 373-6623).
Ohio does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal 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 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 Ohio Public Records Act the agency must answer promptly, within a reasonable period of time, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 866-345-1884.
- An arrest in Marietta, Belpre, Beverly, Matamoras (New Matamoras) or Lowell: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Marietta College: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at washingtongov.org/250/Clerk-of-Courts, phone (740) 373-6623.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at washingtongov.org/605/Public-Records-Request (page title: Public Records Request | Washington County, OH).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Cities in Washington County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for five of the seven cities in Washington County: Marietta, Belpre, Beverly, Matamoras (New Matamoras) and Lowell. Macksburg and Lower Salem have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
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 Court of Common Pleas.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Washington County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Marietta (13,039)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported 380 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2022, the latest year most of the agencies in Washington County sent in full, the four with every month on file reported 669 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Ask the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 866-345-1884; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washingtoncountysheriff.org/corrections.
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 in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Ohio Public Records 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 Ohio Public Records Act the answer is due promptly, within a reasonable period of time; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at washingtongov.org/605/Public-Records-Request.
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.