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, Pennsylvania, has about 210,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, 24 city agencies and seven 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 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, Pennsylvania arrest records, Pennsylvania inmate search and Pennsylvania 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 15 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists ten cities in Washington County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Washington, 13,334 residents: 586 arrests reported for 2023.
- Canonsburg, 9,601 residents: 98 arrests reported for 2024.
- California, 4,628 residents: 122 arrests reported for 2024.
- Donora, 4,482 residents: 133 arrests reported for 2024.
- Monongahela, 4,072 residents: 263 arrests reported for 2025.
- Centerville, 3,214 residents: 14 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bentleyville, 2,335 residents: 8 arrests reported for 2025.
- McDonald, 2,013 residents: 71 arrests reported for 2024.
- East Washington, 1,821 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2025.
- West Brownsville, 967 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 Greene Washington Regional Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Washington County, so its arrests are not broken out for Washington County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Washington County: the Office of Attorney General Region 3 in Washington County and the Bureau of Forestry in Washington County (state agency); Washington and Jefferson College and California University (campus police); Washington County District Attorney and the Washington 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.
- Charelroi Regional: 381 for 2025, 332 for 2024, 449 for 2023 and 277 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- South Strabane Township: 302 for 2025, 423 for 2024, 395 for 2023 and 398 for 2019; 2020, 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Monongahela: 263 for 2025, 207 for 2024, 215 for 2023, 286 for 2020 and 249 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- North Strabane Township: 251 for 2025, 274 for 2024, 217 for 2023, 178 for 2022, 315 for 2020 and 367 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Peters Township: 179 for 2025, 226 for 2024, 274 for 2023 and 357 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Carroll Township: 86 for 2025, 94 for 2024, 67 for 2023 and 65 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Mount Pleasant Township: 79 for 2025, 69 for 2024, 62 for 2023, 35 for 2020 and 57 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Cecil Township: 65 for 2025, 103 for 2024, 128 for 2023 and 306 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Smith Township: 56 for 2025, 51 for 2024, 63 for 2023, 45 for 2020 and 95 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Chartiers Township: 35 for 2025, 44 for 2024, 35 for 2023, 79 for 2020 and 106 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Washington County Sheriff's Office: 15 for 2025, 3 for 2024, 12 for 2023 and 15 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Centerville: 14 for 2025, 7 for 2024, 10 for 2023, 59 for 2020 and 73 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
Together, the 18 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,753 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,753 in 2025 against 1,899 in 2024, down 7.7 percent.
Jefferson Township, West Brownsville, California, Donora and three more reported only part of 2025 (8 months, 2 months, 10 months and 11 months) 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 340 people, down from about 390 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 407 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 custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at washingtoncopa.gov/correctional-facility/inmate-search (page title: Washington County PA: Official Website), phone (724) 228-6700, 95 W Beau St, Washington, PA 15301, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was 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.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections lists its inmates at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Washington County
An arrest in Washington County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; 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 washingtoncopa.gov/chief-clerk, phone (724) 228-6700); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at washingtoncopa.gov/district-attorney, phone (724) 228-6700).
Statewide, UJS Web Portal is the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search.
Pennsylvania is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: PATCH lets anyone request a criminal record check by name online, for $22 a search, through the Pennsylvania 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
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 Right-to-Know Law the agency must answer within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension, and it may charge copying at 25 cents a page.
- An arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (724) 228-6700.
- An arrest in Washington, Canonsburg, California, Donora, Monongahela, Centerville or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Office of Attorney General Region 3 in Washington County, the Bureau of Forestry in Washington County or Washington and Jefferson College: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (724) 228-6700, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, through the court records page at washingtoncopa.gov/chief-clerk, phone (724) 228-6700.
- 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 ten of the 34 cities in Washington County: Washington, Canonsburg, California, Donora, Monongahela, Centerville, Bentleyville, McDonald, East Washington and West Brownsville. Charleroi, New Eagle, Burgettstown, North Charleroi, Houston, Speers, Midway, Ellsworth, Deemston, Claysville, Roscoe, Cokeburg and 12 more have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Charelroi Regional Police Department, the North Strabane Township Police Department, the Resa Regional Police Department and 11 more as city agencies in Washington County; Charelroi Regional, North Strabane Township, Resa Regional and 11 more are not among the cities above.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
Charelroi Regional reported 381 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 18 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,753 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Look on the custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at washingtoncopa.gov, or call (724) 228-6700. It covers people booked into the county 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 Pennsylvania State Police: PATCH lets anyone request a criminal record check by name online, for $22. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Right-to-Know 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 Right-to-Know Law the answer is due within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension.
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.