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.
Bellevue, Washington, in King County, has about 154,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Bellevue is held at the county jail, run by the King 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: Bellevue public records, King County inmate search, Bellevue arrest records, Bellevue warrants, Bellevue criminal records, Bellevue court records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Bellevue
The county jail, run by the King County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Bellevue, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the King County Sheriff's Office at data.kingcounty.gov/Jail/Names-dates-charges/yri2-fef8 (page title: Names, dates, charges | King County | Open Data), phone (206) 296-1234, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at (206) 296-1234.
The King County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 1,330 people, down from about 2,850 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 3,521 beds, and it ran at 44 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
King County has about 2.3 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 6 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the King County Jail
The King County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Bellevue (filed by the FBI as Bellevue Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Bellevue.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in King County: the University of Washington (campus police); the Port of Seattle (other agency).
The Milton Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including King County, so its arrests are not broken out for King County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Seattle's 8,275 for 2025, Auburn's 2,972 for 2025 and Kent's 2,968 for 2024.
Together, the 36 agencies in King County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 31,397 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 Bellevue arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in King County serves the sentence in a facility of the Washington State Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.wa.gov/records/incarcerated-data-search/incarcerated-search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Bellevue?
Ask the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-1234; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at data.kingcounty.gov.
How many people are in the King County jail?
About 1,330 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 3,521 beds.
What is the phone number for the King County jail?
(206) 296-1234, the number on the page of the King County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in King County go?
To a facility of the Washington State Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.wa.gov.
Is this the official Bellevue 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.