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 on September 24, 2026.
Josephine County, Oregon, has about 88,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, one city agency and two campus, state or other 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 Josephine County Circuit 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: Josephine County public records, Oregon arrest records, Oregon inmate search and Oregon criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Josephine County
The Josephine County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Josephine County. It reported 458 arrests for 2025.
One city in Josephine County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Grants Pass, 39,468 residents: 1,559 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.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Josephine County: the Josephine County Liquor Commission (state agency); the Josephine County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Josephine County
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.
- Grants Pass: 1,559 for 2025, 1,203 for 2024, 703 for 2023, 894 for 2022, 1,112 for 2021 and 1,439 for 2020.
- Josephine County Sheriff's Office: 458 for 2025, 407 for 2024, 598 for 2022, 576 for 2021 and 429 for 2019; 2020 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,017 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,017 in 2025 against 1,610 in 2024, up 25 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Josephine County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Josephine 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 160 people, down from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 183 beds, and it ran at 85 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 Josephine County Sheriff's Office at josephinecounty.gov/government/sheriff/jail/index.php (page title: Jail), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Oregon Department of Corrections lists its inmates at oregon.gov/doc/victim-services/pages/offender-search.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Josephine County
An arrest in Josephine County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Josephine County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.oregon.gov/courts/josephine/records/pages/default.aspx); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at josephinecounty.gov/government/district_attorney/index.php, phone (541) 474-5200).
Statewide, Oregon eCourt Case Information is the Oregon Judicial Department's online case search, free for basic case information.
Oregon is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: an Open Record Request returns anyone's Oregon conviction record by name, and the subject is told who asked, for $10 a search, through the Oregon State Police. 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 Josephine County
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 Oregon Public Records Law the agency must answer within 15 business days where practicable, after acknowledging the request within 5, and it may charge the actual cost of making the record available.
- An arrest by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Grants Pass: 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 the Josephine County Liquor Commission or the Josephine County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (541) 474-5200, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Josephine County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courts.oregon.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at josephinecounty.gov (page title: Josephine County, OR).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Josephine County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in Josephine County: Grants Pass. Cave Junction has 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 Josephine County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Josephine County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Grants Pass (39,468)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Josephine County each year?
Grants Pass reported 1,559 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,017 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Josephine County?
Ask the Josephine County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at josephinecounty.gov.
Where are people arrested in Josephine County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Josephine County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Oregon State Police: an Open Record Request returns anyone's Oregon conviction record by name, and the subject is told who asked, for $10. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Oregon Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Josephine County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Josephine County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Oregon Public Records Law the answer is due within 15 business days where practicable, after acknowledging the request within 5; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at josephinecounty.gov.
Is this the official Josephine 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.