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 September 25, 2026.
Anacortes, Washington, in Skagit County, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Anacortes is held at the county jail, run by the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Anacortes public records, Skagit County inmate search, Anacortes arrest records, Anacortes warrants, Anacortes criminal records, Anacortes court records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Anacortes
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Anacortes is held at the county jail, run by the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office at skagitcounty.net/Departments/Jail/jailrostermain.htm (page title: Skagit County Jail Roster and Booking Reports), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone 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.
The Skagit County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 180 people, down from about 310 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 400 beds, and it ran at 77 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Skagit County has about 133,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 14 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Skagit County Jail
The Skagit County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Anacortes (filed by the FBI as Anacortes Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Anacortes.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Mount Vernon's 1,208 for 2025, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office's 585 for 2025 and Burlington's 536 for 2025.
Together, the five agencies in Skagit County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,817 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Anacortes arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Washington State Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.wa.gov/records/incarcerated-data-search/incarcerated-search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Anacortes?
Look on the custody page of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office at skagitcounty.net. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Skagit County jail?
About 180 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 400 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Skagit County go?
To a facility of the Washington State Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.wa.gov.
Is this the official Anacortes 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.