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.
Mason County, Washington, has about 70,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Mason County Sheriff's Office and one city 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 Mason 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: Mason County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Mason County
The Mason County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Mason County. It reported 643 arrests for 2025.
One city in Mason County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Shelton, 10,737 residents: 481 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 Mason 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.
- Mason County Sheriff's Office: 643 for 2025, 565 for 2024, 485 for 2022, 470 for 2021, 601 for 2020 and 712 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
- Shelton: 481 for 2025, 456 for 2024, 385 for 2023, 487 for 2022, 400 for 2021 and 612 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,124 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,124 in 2025 against 1,021 in 2024, up 10 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 531 arrests, against 706 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Mason County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Mason County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 87 people, down from about 120 in 2018. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Mason County Sheriff's Office at masoncountywa.gov/departments/sheriff/index.php (page title: Mason County WA Government), phone 360-427-9670, 322 North 3rd Street, Shelton, WA 98584, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Washington State Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.wa.gov/records/incarcerated-data-search/incarcerated-search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Mason County
An arrest in Mason County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Mason County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at masoncountywa.gov/departments/district_court/public_records.php, phone 360-427-7776); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at masoncountywa.gov/departments/prosecutor/index.php, phone (360) 427-9670).
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 Mason 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 Mason County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 360-427-9670.
- An arrest in Shelton: 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) 427-9670, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Mason County Superior Court, through the court records page at masoncountywa.gov, phone 360-427-7776.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Mason County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Shelton, the one city in Mason County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Mason County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Mason County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Shelton (10,737)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Mason County each year?
The Mason County Sheriff's Office reported 643 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,124 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Mason County?
Ask the Mason County Sheriff's Office at 360-427-9670; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at masoncountywa.gov.
Where are people arrested in Mason County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Mason County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Mason 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 Mason County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Mason 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 Mason 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.