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. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Washington County, Rhode Island, has about 130,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are made by the state police or the town police, with eight city agencies and one campus agency reporting to the FBI. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at a facility of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and, if the Attorney General files charges, a case in the Rhode Island Superior Court, Washington County. 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Washington County public records, Rhode Island arrest records, Rhode Island inmate search and Rhode Island criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Washington County
Rhode Island has no county sheriff with a patrol role. Arrests in Washington County are made by the state police or the town police, and in Rhode Island the police for a given address is the town police in a town with its own department and the state police elsewhere.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Washington County: the University of Rhode Island (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Washington 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.
- Westerly: 523 for 2025, 581 for 2024, 702 for 2023, 811 for 2022, 1,072 for 2021 and 1,153 for 2020.
- South Kingstown: 458 for 2025, 441 for 2024, 399 for 2023, 419 for 2022, 358 for 2021 and 383 for 2020.
- North Kingstown: 457 for 2025, 435 for 2024, 357 for 2023, 357 for 2022, 333 for 2021 and 409 for 2020.
- Narragansett: 310 for 2025, 344 for 2024, 317 for 2023, 350 for 2022, 409 for 2021 and 414 for 2020.
- Hopkinton: 125 for 2025, 141 for 2024, 133 for 2023, 100 for 2022, 127 for 2021 and 88 for 2020.
- Charlestown: 112 for 2025, 137 for 2024, 109 for 2023, 88 for 2022, 86 for 2021 and 115 for 2020.
- Richmond: 65 for 2024, 93 for 2023, 94 for 2022, 98 for 2021, 114 for 2020 and 176 for 2019.
- New Shoreham: 0 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 41 for 2020 and 32 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,985 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,985 in 2025 against 2,079 in 2024, down 4.5 percent.
Through May 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 623 arrests, against 594 in the same months of 2025.
Richmond reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington County Are Held
Rhode Island has no county jails. A person held after an arrest in Washington County is in the custody of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which runs every jail and prison in the state, so one inmate lookup covers the whole state.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Rhode Island Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.ri.gov/family-visitors/incarceration-search.
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 Rhode Island Department of Corrections's inmate locator, for anyone held; the case index of the Rhode Island Superior Court, Washington County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.ri.gov/Courts/SuperiorCourt/Pages/default.aspx, phone (401) 222-3250).
Statewide, Rhode Island Judiciary Public Portal is the courts' free statewide case search.
Rhode Island does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Rhode Island Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Identification 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
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 Access to Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 business days, and it may charge copying at 15 cents a page and search time after the first hour.
- An arrest by the University of Rhode Island: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Rhode Island Superior Court, Washington County, through the court records page at courts.ri.gov, phone (401) 222-3250.
- Your own statewide record: a request in person to the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
Westerly reported 523 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,985 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Through the Rhode Island Department of Corrections's inmate locator at doc.ri.gov; the department holds everyone in custody in Rhode Island.
Where are people arrested in Washington County booked?
In a facility of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which runs every jail in Rhode Island.
Are arrest records public in Washington County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Rhode Island Superior Court, Washington County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Rhode Island Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Identification is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Access to Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Washington County?
From the agency that made the arrest: in Rhode Island, the state police or the town police. Under the Access to Public Records Act the answer is due within 10 business days.
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.