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.
Whatcom County, Washington, has about 235,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, six 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 Whatcom 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: Whatcom County public records, Washington arrest records, Washington inmate search and Washington criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Whatcom County
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Whatcom County. It reported 714 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside six 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:
- Bellingham, 95,860 residents: 3,203 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lynden, 16,783 residents: 228 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ferndale, 16,706 residents: 187 arrests reported for 2025.
- Blaine, 6,371 residents: 157 arrests reported for 2025.
- Everson, 3,169 residents: 9 arrests reported for 2025.
- Sumas, 1,683 residents: 18 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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Whatcom County: Western Washington University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Whatcom 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.
- Bellingham: 3,203 for 2025, 3,041 for 2024, 4,196 for 2023, 2,705 for 2022, 2,124 for 2021 and 2,347 for 2020.
- Whatcom County Sheriff's Office: 714 for 2025, 762 for 2024, 658 for 2023, 459 for 2022, 445 for 2021 and 602 for 2020.
- Lynden: 228 for 2025, 209 for 2024, 247 for 2023, 197 for 2022, 171 for 2021 and 186 for 2020.
- Ferndale: 187 for 2025, 262 for 2024, 232 for 2023, 354 for 2022, 229 for 2021 and 211 for 2020.
- Blaine: 157 for 2025, 187 for 2024, 160 for 2023, 167 for 2022, 81 for 2021 and 151 for 2020.
- Everson: 9 for 2025, 14 for 2024, 12 for 2023, 12 for 2022, 6 for 2021 and 8 for 2020.
- Sumas: 18 for 2024, 10 for 2023, 20 for 2022, 18 for 2021 and 17 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,498 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 4,498 in 2025 against 4,475 in 2024, up 0.5 percent.
Through June 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 2,079 arrests, against 2,141 in the same months of 2025.
Sumas reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Whatcom County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Whatcom 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 2023 the jail held about 340 people, up from about 300 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 267 beds, and it ran at 125 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 Whatcom County Sheriff's Office at apps1.whatcomcounty.us/jaildata/roster.html (page title: Whatcom County Sheriff's Office | Jail Roster), 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 Whatcom County
An arrest in Whatcom County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Whatcom County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at dw.courts.wa.gov); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at whatcomcounty.us/304/Prosecuting-Attorney, phone 360-410-6365).
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 Whatcom 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 Whatcom County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale, Blaine, Everson or Sumas: 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 Western Washington University: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 360-410-6365, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Whatcom County Superior Court, through the court records page at dw.courts.wa.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at whatcomcounty.us (page title: Records Request | Sheriff's Office | Whatcom County, WA).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Whatcom County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the seven cities in Whatcom County: Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale, Blaine, Everson and Sumas. Nooksack 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 Whatcom County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Whatcom County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Bellingham (95,860)
- Lynden (16,783)
- Ferndale (16,706)
- Blaine (6,371)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Whatcom County each year?
Bellingham reported 3,203 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 4,498 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Whatcom County?
Look on the custody page of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office at apps1.whatcomcounty.us/jaildata/roster.html. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Whatcom County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Whatcom 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 Whatcom County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Whatcom 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 whatcomcounty.us.
Is this the official Whatcom 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.