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.
Whitman County, Washington, has about 48,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Whitman County is held at the county jail, run by the Whitman County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Whitman County public records, Whitman County arrest records, Whitman County warrants, Whitman County criminal records, Whitman County court records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Whitman County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Whitman County is held at the county jail, run by the Whitman County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Whitman County Sheriff's Office at whitmancounty.gov/290/County-Jail (page title: County Jail | Whitman County, WA), phone 509-397-5585, 411 N Mill Street Colfax, WA 99111, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 509-397-5585.
The Whitman County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 27 people, down from about 41 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 53 beds, and it ran at 77 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Whitman County has about 48,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 6 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Whitman County Jail
The Whitman County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Pullman, Colfax, Palouse, Garfield and Oakesdale make the arrests that end in a booking in Whitman County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Whitman County: Washington State University at Pullman (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Oakesdale's 1,166 for 2025, the Whitman County Sheriff's Office's 507 for 2025 and Pullman's 434 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Whitman County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,107 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Whitman County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Washington State Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.wa.gov/records/incarcerated-data-search/incarcerated-search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Whitman County?
Ask the Whitman County Sheriff's Office at 509-397-5585; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at whitmancounty.gov/290/County-Jail.
How many people are in the Whitman County jail?
About 27 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 53 beds.
What is the phone number for the Whitman County jail?
509-397-5585, the number on the page of the Whitman County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Whitman County go?
To a facility of the Washington State Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.wa.gov.
Is this the official Whitman 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.