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 October 1, 2026.
Port Townsend, Washington, in Jefferson County, has about 11,000 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 Jefferson 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: Port Townsend public records, Jefferson County arrest records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Port Townsend
The FBI lists Port Townsend with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Port Townsend Police Department. It reported 219 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 Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 185 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Port Townsend 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.
- Port Townsend: 219 for 2025, 175 for 2024, 161 for 2023, 110 for 2022, 105 for 2021 and 95 for 2020.
Port Townsend's 219 arrests in 2025 were up 25 percent from 175 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Port Townsend reported 164 arrests, against 137 in the same months of 2025.
Across Jefferson County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 404 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Port Townsend Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Port Townsend 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 2021 the jail held about 20 people, down from about 44 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 57 beds, and it ran at 77 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at co.jefferson.wa.us/174/Jail-Inmate-Search (page title: Jefferson County, WA), phone 360-385-3831, 79 Elkins Road Port Hadlock, WA 98339, Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was 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.
A person sentenced to prison 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.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Port Townsend
Whether someone was arrested in Port Townsend, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Jefferson County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/276.html, phone 360-385-9395); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.jefferson.wa.us/347/Prosecuting-Attorneys-Office, phone 360-385-5291).
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 Port Townsend
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 Port Townsend police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofpt.us/faqs?keys=&field_tags_tid=601&keys=&field_tags_tid=601 (page title: FAQs | City of Port Townsend Washington), phone (360) 385-2322, 250 Madison Street Port Townsend WA 98368, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 360-385-3831.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 360-385-5291, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Jefferson County Superior Court, through the court records page at courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/276.html, phone 360-385-9395.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Jefferson County guide covers every agency in the county: Jefferson County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Port Townsend each year?
Port Townsend reported 219 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Port Townsend?
Look on the custody page of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at co.jefferson.wa.us/174/Jail-Inmate-Search, or call 360-385-3831. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Port Townsend booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Port Townsend?
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 Port Townsend?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Port Townsend police for its own arrests, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official Port Townsend 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.