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.
Kittitas County, Washington, has about 48,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office, three 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 Kittitas 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: Kittitas County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Kittitas County
The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Kittitas County. It reported 264 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Kittitas County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Ellensburg, 20,996 residents: 599 arrests reported for 2025.
- Cle Elum, 2,276 residents: 70 arrests reported for 2025.
- Kittitas, 1,445 residents: 2 arrests reported for 2023.
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 FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Kittitas County: Central Washington University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Kittitas 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.
- Ellensburg: 599 for 2025, 655 for 2024, 663 for 2023, 689 for 2022, 618 for 2021 and 593 for 2020.
- Kittitas County Sheriff's Office: 264 for 2025, 191 for 2024, 151 for 2023, 122 for 2022, 96 for 2021 and 116 for 2020.
- Cle Elum: 70 for 2025, 60 for 2024, 61 for 2023, 68 for 2022, 57 for 2021 and 68 for 2020.
- Kittitas: 2 for 2023.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 933 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 933 in 2025 against 906 in 2024, up 3 percent.
Through June 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 470 arrests, against 425 in the same months of 2025.
Kittitas reported only part of 2025 (1 month) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Kittitas County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Kittitas 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 88 people, down from about 110 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 204 beds, and it ran at 52 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 Kittitas County Sheriff's Office at co.kittitas.wa.us/sheriff/jail/default.aspx (page title: Kittitas County Sheriff | Jail), phone (509) 962-7527, 205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887, Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM, 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 Kittitas County
An arrest in Kittitas County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Kittitas County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at digitalarchives.wa.gov/Collections/TitleInfo/2306, phone (509) 962-7531); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.kittitas.wa.us/prosecutor/default.aspx, phone (509) 962-7520).
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 Kittitas 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 Kittitas County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (509) 962-7527.
- An arrest in Ellensburg, Cle Elum or Kittitas: 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 Central Washington University: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (509) 962-7520, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Kittitas County Superior Court, through the court records page at digitalarchives.wa.gov, phone (509) 962-7531.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Kittitas County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the five cities in Kittitas County: Ellensburg, Cle Elum and Kittitas. Roslyn and South Cle Elum have 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 Kittitas County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Kittitas County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Ellensburg (20,996)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Kittitas County each year?
Ellensburg reported 599 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 933 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Kittitas County?
Ask the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office at (509) 962-7527; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.kittitas.wa.us/sheriff/jail/default.aspx.
Where are people arrested in Kittitas County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Kittitas 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 Kittitas County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Kittitas 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 Kittitas 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.