Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Adams County, Washington, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Washington the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the County Clerk; the statewide criminal history kept by the Washington State Patrol is open to anyone who asks. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Adams County is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the crimes behind the records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Adams County public records, Adams County arrest records, Adams County warrants, Adams County inmate search, Adams County court records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Adams County Superior Court
In Washington the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Adams County are heard by the Adams County Superior Court, which hears felonies, civil cases over $100,000, divorces, probate and juvenile matters; the District Court takes misdemeanors, traffic infractions, small claims and civil cases up to $100,000, and the file of each case is kept by the County Clerk.
For Adams County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/124.html (page title: Washington State Courts | Court Directory), phone 509-659-3271, 210 W Broadway Ave Ritzville, WA 99169-1860, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, Washington Courts Search Case Records is the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search.
The Washington Criminal History and Your Own Copy
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. The result is the repository record, what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it. The search is on the Washington State Patrol site.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Adams County
The Adams County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Othello and Ritzville keep the arrest records in Adams County: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
Together, the three agencies in Adams County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 573 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Adams County arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Adams County in 2025
The three agencies in Adams County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 58 violent and 290 property crimes to the FBI that year; the same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 348 crimes in 2025 against 524 in 2024. Each reported crime is a report on file with the agency that took it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The full crime section, agency by agency, is on the Adams County public records guide.
The Prosecuting Attorney for Adams County
The Prosecuting Attorney decides which arrests in Adams County become charges and files them in the Adams County Superior Court or the District Court; the office answers questions about pending prosecutions, and the case files themselves are court records.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at co.adams.wa.gov/m/directory/department?did=8 (page title: Staff Directory, Prosecuting Attorneys), phone 509-488-2064, 425 E Main Street Suite 500 Othello, WA 99344, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Adams County
Registered sex offenders living in Adams County are listed on the Washington Sex Offender Registry, run by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. Level 2 and Level 3 offenders are listed online; Level 1 offenders are not.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Adams County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) a county office must answer a request within 5 business days, and it may charge for copies at 15 cents a page, and set fees for electronic records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal 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).
Can I search Adams County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.wa.gov/court_dir/orgs/124.html (page title: Washington State Courts | Court Directory). Statewide, Washington Courts Search Case Records is the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search.
How do I get my own Washington criminal history?
Through the same WATCH search, run on yourself.
Who prosecutes crimes in Adams County?
The Prosecuting Attorney, reached at 509-488-2064, which files its cases in the Adams County Superior Court or the District Court.
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.