Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 September 25, 2026.
Portland, Texas, in San Patricio County, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city 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 San Patricio County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Portland public records, San Patricio County arrest records, Texas arrest records and Texas inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Portland
The FBI lists Portland with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Portland Police Department. It reported 714 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 553 arrests for 2020.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in San Patricio County: the Taft Independent School District (other).
How Many Arrests Portland Reports
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.
- Portland: 714 for 2025, 621 for 2024, 910 for 2023, 780 for 2022, 765 for 2020 and 738 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Portland's 714 arrests in 2025 were up 15 percent from 621 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Portland reported 501 arrests, against 465 in the same months of 2025.
Across San Patricio County, the eight agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,697 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Portland Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Portland 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.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 200 people on an average day, up from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 236 beds, and it is running at 83 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office at sanpatriciocountytx.gov/page/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | San Patricio County TX), phone 361-364-9600, 400 W Sinton St | Sinton, TX 78387, Monday - Friday: 8am - 5:00pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice lists its inmates at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Portland
An arrest in Portland can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the San Patricio County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at sanpatriciocountytx.gov/page/county.clerk.home, phone (361) 364-9350); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at sanpatriciocountytx.gov/page/district.attorney, phone 361-364-9390).
Texas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Conviction Database search lets anyone look up convictions and deferred adjudications by name, for $3 a search, through the Texas Department of Public Safety. 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 Portland
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 Texas Public Information Act the agency must answer within 10 business days, and it may charge the copy rates set by the Attorney General, plus labor for large requests.
- An arrest by the Portland police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at portlandtx.com/93/Open-Records-Requests (page title: Open Records Requests | Portland, TX), phone 361-777-4445, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 361-364-9600.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 361-364-9390, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the San Patricio County District Court, through the court records page at sanpatriciocountytx.gov, phone (361) 364-9350.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at sanpatriciocountytx.gov (page title: Public Information Request | San Patricio County TX).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
The San Patricio County guide covers every agency in the county: San Patricio County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Portland each year?
Portland reported 714 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Portland?
Ask the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office at 361-364-9600; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sanpatriciocountytx.gov/page/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Portland booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Portland?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Texas Department of Public Safety: the Conviction Database search lets anyone look up convictions and deferred adjudications by name, for $3. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Texas Public Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Portland?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Portland police for its own arrests, the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Texas Public Information Act the answer is due within 10 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at sanpatriciocountytx.gov.
Is this the official Portland website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.