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.
Grays Harbor County, Washington, has about 78,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office and nine 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 Grays Harbor 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: Grays Harbor County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Grays Harbor County
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Grays Harbor County. It reported 417 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside nine 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:
- Aberdeen, 17,044 residents: 1,586 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hoquiam, 8,771 residents: 345 arrests reported for 2024.
- Ocean Shores, 7,731 residents: 25 arrests reported for 2025.
- Montesano, 4,194 residents: 79 arrests reported for 2025.
- Elma, 3,515 residents: 91 arrests reported for 2025.
- Westport, 2,341 residents: 25 arrests reported for 2025.
- McCleary, 2,059 residents: 26 arrests reported for 2024.
- Cosmopolis, 1,663 residents.
- Oakville, 735 residents: 5 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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Grays Harbor 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.
- Aberdeen: 1,586 for 2025, 1,820 for 2024, 1,273 for 2023, 1,342 for 2022, 862 for 2021 and 1,186 for 2020.
- Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office: 417 for 2025, 436 for 2024, 459 for 2021, 654 for 2020 and 523 for 2019; 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Elma: 91 for 2025, 123 for 2024, 95 for 2023, 110 for 2022, 123 for 2021 and 94 for 2020.
- Montesano: 79 for 2025, 107 for 2024, 83 for 2023, 56 for 2022, 76 for 2021 and 76 for 2020.
- Ocean Shores: 25 for 2025, 47 for 2024, 38 for 2023 and 34 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Westport: 25 for 2025, 30 for 2024, 26 for 2023, 25 for 2022, 20 for 2021 and 35 for 2020.
- Hoquiam: 345 for 2024, 297 for 2023, 291 for 2022, 294 for 2021, 369 for 2020 and 239 for 2019.
- McCleary: 26 for 2024 and 4 for 2020; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Oakville: 5 for 2024, 12 for 2023, 18 for 2022, 8 for 2021, 24 for 2020 and 14 for 2019.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,223 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,223 in 2025 against 2,563 in 2024, down 13 percent.
Through June 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,189 arrests, against 1,153 in the same months of 2025.
Hoquiam, McCleary and Oakville reported only part of 2025 (4 months, 1 month and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Grays Harbor County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Grays Harbor 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 2021 the jail held about 190 people, down from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 224 beds, and it ran at 85 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 Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office at graysharbor.us/departments/sheriff/corrections_division/jail_regist... (page title: Corrections Division), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Grays Harbor County
An arrest in Grays Harbor County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Grays Harbor County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at graysharbor.us/government/district_court/request_for_information.php); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at graysharbor.us/government/prosecutor/index.php, phone (360) 249-3951).
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 Grays Harbor 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 Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Ocean Shores, Montesano, Elma, Westport or another of the cities listed above: 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) 249-3951, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Grays Harbor County Superior Court, through the court records page at graysharbor.us.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Grays Harbor County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the nine cities in Grays Harbor County: Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Ocean Shores, Montesano, Elma, Westport, McCleary, Cosmopolis and Oakville.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Grays Harbor County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Grays Harbor County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Aberdeen (17,044)
- Ocean Shores (7,731)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Grays Harbor County each year?
Aberdeen reported 1,586 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,223 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Grays Harbor County?
Ask the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at graysharbor.us.
Where are people arrested in Grays Harbor County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Grays Harbor 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 Grays Harbor County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Grays Harbor 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 Grays Harbor 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.