SearchSystems Editorial

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.

About this guide

Clark County, Washington, has about 527,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Clark County Sheriff's Office, six city agencies and one campus agency. 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 Clark 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: Clark County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Clark County

The Clark County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Clark County. It reported 2,166 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.

The FBI lists six cities in Clark County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:

  • Vancouver, 198,992 residents: 4,098 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Camas, 27,313 residents: 214 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Battle Ground, 22,959 residents: 574 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Washougal, 17,944 residents: 427 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Ridgefield, 15,359 residents: 181 arrests reported for 2025.
  • La Center, 4,256 residents: 32 arrests reported for 2024.

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.

The Woodland Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Clark County, so its arrests are not broken out for Clark County here.

The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Clark County: Washington State University at Vancouver (campus police).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Clark 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.

  • Vancouver: 4,098 for 2025, 3,782 for 2024, 2,940 for 2023, 2,333 for 2022, 1,560 for 2021 and 2,683 for 2020.
  • Battle Ground: 574 for 2025, 700 for 2024, 492 for 2023, 624 for 2022, 551 for 2021 and 544 for 2020.
  • Washougal: 427 for 2025, 370 for 2024, 406 for 2023, 349 for 2022, 393 for 2021 and 506 for 2020.
  • Camas: 214 for 2025, 263 for 2024, 207 for 2023, 193 for 2022, 192 for 2021 and 245 for 2020.
  • Ridgefield: 181 for 2025, 190 for 2024, 172 for 2023, 156 for 2022, 178 for 2021 and 158 for 2020.
  • Clark County Sheriff's Office: 2,166 for 2024, 1,903 for 2023, 1,747 for 2022, 1,546 for 2021, 1,968 for 2020 and 3,377 for 2019.
  • La Center: 32 for 2024, 29 for 2023, 47 for 2022, 58 for 2021, 119 for 2020 and 95 for 2019.

Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,494 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 5,494 in 2025 against 5,305 in 2024, up 3.6 percent.

Through June 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 2,286 arrests, against 2,455 in the same months of 2025.

La Center and Clark County Sheriff's Office reported only part of 2025 (1 month and 4 months) and are left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Clark County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clark County 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 2022 the jail held about 440 people, down from about 640 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 590 beds, and it ran at 108 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 Clark County Sheriff's Office at clark.wa.gov/sheriff (page title: Clark County Sheriff | Clark County), phone 564.397.2211, 707 West 13th St. Vancouver, WA 98660, monitored: Mon-Fri, 8 am - 4 pm, 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 Clark County

An arrest in Clark County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Clark 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/index.cfm); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at clark.wa.gov/prosecuting-attorney, phone (564) 397-2261).

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 Clark County

An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Clark County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 564.397.2211.
  • An arrest in Vancouver, Camas, Battle Ground, Washougal, Ridgefield or La Center: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
  • An arrest by Washington State University at Vancouver: the records office of the agency involved.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (564) 397-2261, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Clark County Superior Court, through the court records page at courts.wa.gov/index.cfm.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at clark.wa.gov (page title: Public records requests | Clark County).
  • Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.

Cities in Clark County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the seven cities in Clark County: Vancouver, Camas, Battle Ground, Washougal, Ridgefield and La Center. Yacolt has 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 Clark County Superior Court.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Clark County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Clark County each year?

Vancouver reported 4,098 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 5,494 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Clark County?

Ask the Clark County Sheriff's Office at 564.397.2211; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clark.wa.gov/sheriff.

Where are people arrested in Clark County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Clark County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Clark 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 Clark County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Clark 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at clark.wa.gov.

Is this the official Clark 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.