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 24, 2026.
Cowlitz County, Washington, has about 114,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office and five 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 Cowlitz 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: Cowlitz County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Cowlitz County
The Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Cowlitz County. It reported 784 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside five of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Longview, 38,294 residents: 2,474 arrests reported for 2025.
- Kelso, 12,737 residents: 805 arrests reported for 2025.
- Woodland, 6,496 residents: 211 arrests reported for 2025.
- Kalama, 3,131 residents: 26 arrests reported for 2025.
- Castle Rock, 2,445 residents: 58 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 Cowlitz County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Longview: 2,474 for 2025, 2,374 for 2024, 2,544 for 2023, 1,870 for 2022, 1,654 for 2021 and 1,501 for 2020.
- Kelso: 805 for 2025, 814 for 2024, 1,025 for 2023, 835 for 2022, 906 for 2021 and 764 for 2020.
- Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office: 784 for 2025, 897 for 2024, 964 for 2023, 888 for 2022, 862 for 2021 and 784 for 2020.
- Woodland: 211 for 2025, 211 for 2024, 183 for 2023, 161 for 2022, 185 for 2021 and 318 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Castle Rock: 58 for 2025, 46 for 2024, 62 for 2023, 56 for 2022, 77 for 2021 and 74 for 2020.
- Kalama: 26 for 2025, 53 for 2024, 69 for 2023, 61 for 2022, 35 for 2021 and 69 for 2020.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,358 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 4,358 in 2025 against 4,395 in 2024, down 0.8 percent.
Through June 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,854 arrests, against 2,160 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Cowlitz County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cowlitz 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 2023 the jail held about 210 people, down from about 260 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 354 beds, and it ran at 58 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 Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office at apps.co.cowlitz.wa.us/CCCD/custody/default/index.html (page title: Cowlitz County Jail Roster), Monday : 9:00am - 12:00pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 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 Cowlitz County
An arrest in Cowlitz County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Cowlitz County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.cowlitz.wa.us/2638/Court-Records, phone 360-577-3020); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.cowlitz.wa.us/230/Prosecuting-Attorney, phone 360-577-3080).
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 Cowlitz 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 Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Longview, Kelso, Woodland, Kalama or Castle Rock: 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, 360-577-3080, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Cowlitz County Superior Court, through the court records page at co.cowlitz.wa.us/2638/Court-Records, phone 360-577-3020.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.cowlitz.wa.us (page title: Public Records | Cowlitz County, WA).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Cowlitz County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the five cities in Cowlitz County: Longview, Kelso, Woodland, Kalama and Castle Rock.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Cowlitz County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Cowlitz 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 Cowlitz County each year?
Longview reported 2,474 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 4,358 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Cowlitz County?
Look on the custody page of the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office at apps.co.cowlitz.wa.us. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Cowlitz County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Cowlitz 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 Cowlitz County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Cowlitz 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 co.cowlitz.wa.us.
Is this the official Cowlitz 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.