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 30, 2026.
Shelton, Washington, in Mason 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 Mason 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: Shelton public records, Mason County arrest records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Shelton
The FBI lists Shelton with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Shelton Police Department. It reported 481 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 Mason County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 643 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests Shelton 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.
- Shelton: 481 for 2025, 456 for 2024, 385 for 2023, 487 for 2022, 400 for 2021 and 612 for 2020.
Shelton's 481 arrests in 2025 were up 5.5 percent from 456 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Shelton reported 208 arrests, against 290 in the same months of 2025.
Across Mason County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,124 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Shelton Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Shelton and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 87 people, down from about 120 in 2018. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Mason County Sheriff's Office at masoncountywa.gov/departments/sheriff/index.php (page title: Mason County WA Government), phone 360-427-9670, 322 North 3rd Street, Shelton, WA 98584, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Shelton
An arrest in Shelton can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Mason County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at masoncountywa.gov/departments/district_court/public_records.php, phone 360-427-7776); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at masoncountywa.gov/departments/prosecutor/index.php, phone (360) 427-9670).
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 Shelton
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 Shelton police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at sheltonwa.gov/government/departments/police/records___evidence.php (page title: Records/Evidence), phone 360-432-5145, Monday - Friday, between the hours of 10 - 11:30 a.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Mason County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 360-427-9670.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (360) 427-9670, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Mason County Superior Court, through the court records page at masoncountywa.gov, phone 360-427-7776.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Mason County guide covers every agency in the county: Mason County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Shelton each year?
Shelton reported 481 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Shelton?
Ask the Mason County Sheriff's Office at 360-427-9670; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at masoncountywa.gov.
Where are people arrested in Shelton booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Mason County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Shelton?
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 Shelton?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Shelton police for its own arrests, the Mason 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 Shelton 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.