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 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Washington County, Oregon, has about 611,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, 11 city agencies and three 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 Washington 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: Washington County public records, Oregon arrest records, Oregon inmate search and Oregon 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 6,159 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside 11 of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Hillsboro, 110,337 residents: 4,866 arrests reported for 2025.
- Beaverton, 98,302 residents: 4,028 arrests reported for 2025.
- Tigard, 57,301 residents: 1,212 arrests reported for 2025.
- Tualatin, 28,036 residents: 479 arrests reported for 2025.
- Forest Grove, 27,076 residents: 347 arrests reported for 2025.
- Sherwood, 20,441 residents: 276 arrests reported for 2025.
- Cornelius, 15,369 residents: 557 arrests reported for 2025.
- King City, 5,002 residents: 96 arrests reported for 2025.
- North Plains, 3,424 residents: 25 arrests reported for 2025.
- Banks, 1,831 residents: 9 arrests reported for 2025.
- Gaston, 676 residents: 6 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 Portland Police Department and the Lake Oswego Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Washington County, so their arrests are not broken out for Washington County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Washington County: the Washington County Liquor Commission (state agency); the Hillsboro School District (other); the Washington County State Police (state 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: 6,159 for 2025, 6,131 for 2024, 5,410 for 2023, 5,222 for 2022, 5,491 for 2021 and 5,033 for 2020.
- Hillsboro: 4,866 for 2025, 4,494 for 2024, 3,656 for 2023, 2,820 for 2022, 2,467 for 2021 and 2,271 for 2020.
- Beaverton: 4,028 for 2025, 4,211 for 2024, 3,234 for 2023, 3,424 for 2022, 3,739 for 2021 and 3,696 for 2020.
- Tigard: 1,212 for 2025, 1,282 for 2024, 1,145 for 2023, 987 for 2022, 691 for 2021 and 857 for 2020.
- Cornelius: 557 for 2025, 701 for 2024, 499 for 2023, 449 for 2022, 412 for 2021 and 397 for 2020.
- Tualatin: 479 for 2025, 410 for 2024, 432 for 2023, 452 for 2022, 468 for 2021 and 584 for 2020.
- Forest Grove: 347 for 2025, 419 for 2024, 435 for 2023, 443 for 2022, 390 for 2021 and 472 for 2020.
- Sherwood: 276 for 2025, 324 for 2024, 428 for 2023, 354 for 2022, 225 for 2021 and 214 for 2020.
- King City: 96 for 2025, 104 for 2024, 69 for 2023, 50 for 2022, 71 for 2021 and 77 for 2020.
- North Plains: 25 for 2025, 43 for 2024, 34 for 2023, 34 for 2022, 55 for 2021 and 47 for 2020.
- Banks: 9 for 2025, 15 for 2024, 16 for 2023, 11 for 2022, 27 for 2021 and 18 for 2020.
- Gaston: 6 for 2025, 12 for 2024, 7 for 2023, 6 for 2022, 6 for 2020 and 10 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the 12 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 18,060 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 18,060 in 2025 against 18,146 in 2024, down 0.5 percent.
Through August 2026, the ten agencies with every month so far on file reported 12,028 arrests, against 11,948 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Washington County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 420 people, down from about 560 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 572 beds, and it ran at 98 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 washingtoncountyor.gov/sheriff/jail (page title: Jail Division | Washington County, OR), phone 503-846-6374, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Washington County
Whether someone was arrested in Washington County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Washington 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/washington/records/pages/default.aspx); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtoncountyor.gov/locations/justice-services-building/district...).
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 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 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 Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 503-846-6374.
- An arrest in Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Forest Grove, Sherwood or another of the cities listed above: 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 Washington County Liquor Commission, the Hillsboro School District or the Washington 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 handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courts.oregon.gov.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Washington County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 11 of the 12 cities in Washington County: Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Forest Grove, Sherwood, Cornelius, King City, North Plains, Banks and Gaston. Durham 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 Washington County Circuit Court.
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:
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported 6,159 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 12 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 18,060 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Ask the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 503-846-6374; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washingtoncountyor.gov/sheriff/jail.
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 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 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 Oregon Public Records Law the answer is due within 15 business days where practicable, after acknowledging the request within 5.
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.