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.
Skagit County, Washington, has about 133,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Skagit County Sheriff's Office and four 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 Skagit 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: Skagit County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Skagit County
The Skagit County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Skagit County. It reported 585 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four 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:
- Mount Vernon, 35,344 residents: 1,208 arrests reported for 2025.
- Anacortes, 18,148 residents: 303 arrests reported for 2025.
- Sedro-Woolley, 13,215 residents: 185 arrests reported for 2025.
- Burlington, 10,945 residents: 536 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 Skagit 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.
- Mount Vernon: 1,208 for 2025, 1,149 for 2024, 956 for 2023, 887 for 2022, 785 for 2021 and 1,032 for 2020.
- Skagit County Sheriff's Office: 585 for 2025, 689 for 2024, 635 for 2023, 469 for 2022, 519 for 2021 and 528 for 2020.
- Burlington: 536 for 2025, 669 for 2024, 572 for 2023, 606 for 2022, 516 for 2021 and 466 for 2020.
- Anacortes: 303 for 2025, 324 for 2024, 487 for 2023, 326 for 2022, 291 for 2021 and 404 for 2020.
- Sedro-Woolley: 185 for 2025, 104 for 2024, 77 for 2023, 192 for 2022, 236 for 2021 and 259 for 2020.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,817 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,817 in 2025 against 2,935 in 2024, down 4 percent.
Through June 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,289 arrests, against 1,405 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Skagit County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Skagit 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 180 people, down from about 310 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 400 beds, and it ran at 77 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 Skagit County Sheriff's Office at skagitcounty.net/Departments/Jail/jailrostermain.htm (page title: Skagit County Jail Roster and Booking Reports), 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 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 Skagit County
An arrest in Skagit County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Skagit 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/2388, phone (360) 650-3125); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at skagitcounty.net/Departments/ProsecutingAttorney/dept.htm, phone (360) 416-1600).
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 Skagit 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 Skagit County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Sedro-Woolley or Burlington: 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) 416-1600, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Skagit County Superior Court, through the court records page at digitalarchives.wa.gov, phone (360) 650-3125.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Skagit County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the eight cities in Skagit County: Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Sedro-Woolley and Burlington. La Conner, Concrete, Lyman and Hamilton 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 Skagit County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Skagit County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Mount Vernon (35,344)
- Anacortes (18,148)
- Sedro-Woolley (13,215)
- Burlington (10,945)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Skagit County each year?
Mount Vernon reported 1,208 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,817 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Skagit County?
Look on the custody page of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office at skagitcounty.net. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Skagit County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Skagit County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Skagit 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 Skagit County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Skagit 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 Skagit 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.