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 30, 2026.
Adams County, Washington, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Adams County Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. An arrest 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 Adams County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Adams County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Adams County
The Adams County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Adams County. It reported 173 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Adams County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Othello, 9,001 residents: 385 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ritzville, 1,709 residents: 15 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Adams County
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.
- Othello: 385 for 2025, 395 for 2024, 294 for 2023, 292 for 2022, 201 for 2021 and 185 for 2020.
- Adams County Sheriff's Office: 173 for 2025, 207 for 2024, 166 for 2023, 205 for 2022, 159 for 2021 and 164 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Ritzville: 15 for 2025, 34 for 2024, 23 for 2023, 16 for 2022, 13 for 2021 and 17 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 573 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 573 in 2025 against 636 in 2024, down 9.9 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Adams County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Adams County 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 23 people, down from about 25 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 28 beds, and it ran at 89 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Adams County
Whether someone was arrested in Adams County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Adams 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/124.html, phone 509-659-3271); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.adams.wa.gov/m/directory/department?did=8, phone 509-488-2064).
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 Adams County
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 Adams County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Othello or Ritzville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 509-488-2064, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Adams County Superior Court, through the court records page at courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/124.html, phone 509-659-3271.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Adams County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the five cities in Adams County: Othello and Ritzville. Lind, Washtucna and Hatton have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Adams County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Adams County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Othello (9,001)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Adams County each year?
Othello reported 385 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 573 between them.
Where are people arrested in Adams County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Adams County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Adams County?
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 Adams County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Adams County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official Adams County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.