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.
Covington, Washington, in King County, has about 22,000 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 Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the King County Superior 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: Covington public records, King County arrest records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Covington
The FBI lists Covington with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Covington Police Department. It reported 375 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 King County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 2,579 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in King County: the University of Washington (campus police); the Port of Seattle (other).
How Many Arrests Covington 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.
- Covington: 375 for 2025, 426 for 2024, 349 for 2023, 317 for 2022, 274 for 2021 and 287 for 2020.
Covington's 375 arrests in 2025 were down 12 percent from 426 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Covington reported 179 arrests, against 268 in the same months of 2025.
Across King County, the 36 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 31,397 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Covington Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Covington 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 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.
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.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Washington State Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.wa.gov/records/incarcerated-data-search/incarcerated-search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Covington
Whether someone was arrested in Covington, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the King County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dja/courts-jails-legal-system/case-records/r..., phone 206-477-0691); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at kingcounty.gov/en/dept/pao, phone 206-477-1200).
Statewide, Washington Courts Search Case Records is the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search.
Washington is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: WATCH lets anyone search conviction records by name online, for $12 a search, through the Washington State Patrol. 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 Covington
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 Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge for copies at 15 cents a page, and set fees for electronic records.
- An arrest by the Covington police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at covingtonwa.gov/city_departments/executive/cityclerk/publicrecordsr... (page title: Public Record Request), 16720 SE 271 St, Ste. 100 Covington, WA 98042, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the King County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (206) 296-1234.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 206-477-1200, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the King County Superior Court, through the court records page at kingcounty.gov, phone 206-477-0691.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at kingcounty.gov (page title: Submit a Public Records Request | King County, Washington).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The King County guide covers every agency in the county: King County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Covington each year?
Covington reported 375 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Covington?
Ask the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-1234; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at data.kingcounty.gov.
Where are people arrested in Covington booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the King County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Covington?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Washington State Patrol: WATCH lets anyone search conviction records by name online, for $12. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Covington?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Covington police for its own arrests, the King County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) the answer is due within 5 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at kingcounty.gov.
Is this the official Covington 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.