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 24, 2026.

About this guide

King County, Washington, has about 2.3 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the King County Sheriff's Office, 37 city agencies and two campus, state or other 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 King 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: King County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in King County

The King County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for King County. It reported 2,579 arrests for 2025.

The FBI lists 37 cities in King County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported, the largest twelve first; the rest are named in the cities section below:

  • Seattle, 780,995 residents: 8,275 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Bellevue, 154,377 residents: 2,568 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Kent, 136,588 residents: 2,968 arrests reported for 2024.
  • Renton, 105,543 residents: 1,628 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Federal Way, 100,252 residents: 2,739 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Kirkland, 95,499 residents: 1,195 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Auburn, 85,513 residents: 2,972 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Redmond, 82,195 residents: 1,185 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Sammamish, 66,474 residents: 111 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Shoreline, 66,251 residents: 919 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Burien, 52,046 residents: 1,610 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Bothell, 51,770 residents: 639 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.

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

The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in King County: the University of Washington (campus police); the Port of Seattle (other).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in King 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.

  • Seattle: 8,275 for 2025, 7,918 for 2024, 8,407 for 2023, 9,050 for 2022, 7,217 for 2021 and 8,585 for 2020.
  • Auburn: 2,972 for 2025, 3,190 for 2024, 2,854 for 2023, 2,629 for 2022, 2,464 for 2021 and 3,286 for 2020.
  • Federal Way: 2,739 for 2025, 2,443 for 2024, 1,741 for 2023, 1,943 for 2022, 2,010 for 2021 and 2,135 for 2020.
  • King County Sheriff's Office: 2,579 for 2025, 2,330 for 2024, 2,071 for 2023, 1,978 for 2022, 1,804 for 2021 and 2,317 for 2020.
  • Bellevue: 2,568 for 2025, 2,717 for 2024, 2,225 for 2023, 2,254 for 2022, 1,977 for 2021 and 2,110 for 2020.
  • Renton: 1,628 for 2025, 1,861 for 2024, 1,717 for 2023, 1,216 for 2022, 1,325 for 2021 and 1,996 for 2020.
  • Burien: 1,610 for 2025, 1,589 for 2024, 1,181 for 2023, 1,245 for 2022, 1,163 for 2021 and 1,034 for 2020.
  • Kirkland: 1,195 for 2025, 1,122 for 2024, 986 for 2023, 989 for 2022, 873 for 2021 and 774 for 2020.
  • Redmond: 1,185 for 2025, 1,175 for 2024, 1,183 for 2023, 1,065 for 2022, 886 for 2021 and 1,065 for 2020.
  • Tukwila: 986 for 2025, 1,075 for 2024, 945 for 2023, 896 for 2022, 570 for 2021 and 853 for 2020.
  • Shoreline: 919 for 2025, 759 for 2024, 619 for 2023, 708 for 2022, 602 for 2021 and 643 for 2020.
  • SeaTac: 665 for 2025, 707 for 2024, 633 for 2023, 659 for 2022, 668 for 2021 and 676 for 2020.

Together, the 36 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 31,397 arrests that year. The 35 of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 31,289 in 2025 against 30,620 in 2024, up 2.2 percent.

Through May 2026, the 27 agencies with every month so far on file reported 10,814 arrests, against 12,458 in the same months of 2025.

Kent and Black Diamond reported only part of 2025 (11 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in King County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in King 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 2024 the jail held about 1,330 people, down from about 2,850 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 3,521 beds, and it ran at 44 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 King County Sheriff's Office at data.kingcounty.gov/Jail/Names-dates-charges/yri2-fef8 (page title: Names, dates, charges | King County | Open Data), phone (206) 296-1234, 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 King County

Whether someone was arrested in King County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the King County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dja/courts-jails-legal-system/case-records/r..., phone 206-477-0691); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at kingcounty.gov/en/dept/pao, phone 206-477-1200).

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 King 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 King County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (206) 296-1234.
  • An arrest in Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Kirkland 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.
  • An arrest by the University of Washington or the Port of Seattle: the records office of the agency involved.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 206-477-1200, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the King County Superior Court, through the court records page at kingcounty.gov, phone 206-477-0691.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at kingcounty.gov (page title: Submit a Public Records Request | King County, Washington).
  • Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.

Cities in King County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for 37 of the 38 cities in King County: the twelve named above and Issaquah, SeaTac, Des Moines, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Kenmore, Tukwila, Covington, Woodinville, Snoqualmie, Lake Forest Park, Enumclaw, Newcastle, Duvall, North Bend, Pacific, Black Diamond, Normandy Park, Algona, Clyde Hill, Medina, Carnation, Yarrow Point, Beaux Arts Village and Skykomish. Hunts Point 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 King County Superior Court.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in King 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 King County each year?

Seattle reported 8,275 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 36 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 31,397 between them.

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

Ask the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-1234; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at data.kingcounty.gov.

Where are people arrested in King County booked?

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

Are arrest records public in King 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 King County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the King 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 kingcounty.gov.

Is this the official King 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.