Search Clark County Arrest & Criminal Records

How to Find Recent Clark County Arrests

The most direct way to find recent Clark County arrests is the public jail roster at clark.wa.gov/jail-services/jail-roster. The roster is a live table, not a form-based search. It shows every person currently in custody or recently released, sorted by booking date. You can filter the table by book date to narrow the list to a specific day or range. The Sheriff's Office also runs a 24-hour information line at 564-397-4996 for general jail questions.

The steps below cover how to use the roster and what to do if you need more detail than it provides.

1. Go to clark.wa.gov/jail-services/jail-roster in any browser.
2. Use the "Filter records by Book Date" control to narrow results to the date or date range you want to check.
3. Scan the Name column for the person you are looking for. Names appear in Last, First format.
4. Check the Charges column for a plain-language description of what the person was booked for. No statute numbers appear in the table.
5. Look at the Release Date column. A blank means the person is likely still in custody. A date means they were released or are scheduled for release on that date.
6. If the roster does not have enough detail, call 564-397-4996 for the 24-hour jail information line, or contact the Sheriff's Criminal Records and Warrants Unit at 564-397-2211 during public hours.

For court filings tied to an arrest, including charges formally filed, plea entries, and case outcomes, the record lives at the courthouse rather than the jail. Felony charges go to Superior Court. Misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor charges go to District Court. The Clark County court records page explains how to search those files.

What the Clark County Jail Roster Shows

The roster is intentionally limited. It is a custody-status tool, not a mugshot site or a booking-report database. Clark County's Jail Services page states clearly that aside from the roster, all records of a person in jail are confidential under RCW 70.48.100. The table below lists every column the roster displays and what it does not show.

The roster covers recent arrests and current custody. It is not an archive. Once a person has been out of custody for some time, they may no longer appear. Charge descriptions like "DWS 2/DWS 3" (Driving While Suspended) and "Protection Order Violation" appear as plain text, which is enough to understand the general nature of the booking.

Note: The jail roster shows no mugshots because Clark County does not publish booking photos through this portal, unlike some other counties that post them publicly.

Arrest Record vs Criminal Court Record

An arrest record and a criminal court record are two different files kept by two different offices. An arrest record is created at booking by the jail or law enforcement agency. A criminal court record begins when a prosecutor files charges with the court, which may happen days after an arrest or may never happen if charges are dropped. Someone can have an arrest record with no matching court record if charges were never filed. The reverse is rare but possible in some transfer situations. When you need to find Clark County criminal records for a completed case, the court file has more detail.

Keep this split in mind when you decide where to search. If you want to know whether someone is in custody right now or was recently booked, the jail roster is the right tool. If you want to know the outcome of a case, what plea was entered, or what sentence was imposed, you need the court file.

Charges vs Convictions in Clark County

A charge is an accusation. It is not proof of guilt and not a conviction. When someone is booked into the Clark County Jail, the charge column on the roster lists what they were arrested for, not what was proven in court. Prosecutors may later drop the charge, reduce it, or file something different entirely. The legal standard to arrest someone is probable cause, which is far lower than the standard needed to convict. A conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, either through a guilty plea or a jury or bench verdict.

This difference matters when reading any public record. An arrest entry that says "Burglary-2" means a booking occurred on that accusation. It says nothing about guilt. If you want to know the final outcome, you look at the court record's disposition field. Washington's statewide criminal history through WSP WATCH reports conviction data and certain other entries, but it does not confirm an arrest led to a conviction unless a conviction actually occurred.

Washington Criminal History Through WSP WATCH

The official source for Washington State criminal history is WSP WATCH, run by the Washington State Patrol. The portal is at watch.wsp.wa.gov. It covers conviction records statewide, including Clark County cases. It also includes arrests less than one year old with dispositions pending and certain adverse findings. An online name and date-of-birth search costs $11. A notary request costs $15. These are not court records and not jail records. They are criminal history records compiled by the state from courts, jails, and law enforcement agencies across Washington.

WSP WATCH is governed by RCW chapter 10.97, the Washington Criminal Records Privacy Act. Under that chapter, conviction data is released without restriction. Non-conviction information is not available to the public. That means an arrest that did not result in a conviction typically does not show up in a public WATCH result. WSP WATCH itself warns that searches based on names and dates of birth are not always accurate and that fingerprints are the only way to positively link a person to a record. Treat a WATCH result as a strong lead, not a final answer.

The screenshot below comes from the WSP WATCH portal, the official statewide Washington conviction-history search for Clark County and all other Washington counties.

Results from WATCH show conviction history at the state level, which is broader than what a Clark County Clerk criminal-conviction verification covers. For a county-level certified check of Clark County Superior Court criminal convictions from 1979 to the present, the County Clerk offers a mail-only written verification service for $5 per person, addressed to Clark County Clerk's Office, Attn. Criminal Department, PO Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000.

Sealed vs Expunged / Vacating a Conviction in Washington

Washington uses the word "vacation" for its main adult conviction-relief process, not "expungement." A vacated conviction can change what the public criminal history shows, but the underlying court file may still have docket entries unless the file is separately sealed. Sealing a court file requires a court order under court rule GR 15. These are two separate steps: vacating a conviction and sealing the file.

The screenshot below shows the RCW chapter 10.97 page at the Washington State Legislature site, which governs how criminal records are handled and what may be released to the public.

The table below compares the sealing and vacation pathways available under Washington law for Clark County convictions.

Washington does not use the term "expungement" in the same way other states do. When someone in Clark County asks about clearing a record, the correct Washington term is vacation. A successful vacation petition is filed in the court that holds the original case. The court weighs eligibility criteria, offense type, waiting periods, and any statutory bars before granting or denying the petition.

Juvenile Arrest Record Restrictions

Juvenile arrest and court records in Clark County follow different rules than adult records. The County Clerk maintains juvenile offender and dependency records, but RCW chapter 13.50 restricts access to juvenile justice and care agency records. A separate sealing pathway applies to juvenile offender records under RCW 13.50.260. The public access rules for juvenile records differ depending on whether the file involves a juvenile offender, a dependency, an adoption, or another juvenile matter.

Juvenile records are not listed in the public jail roster in the same way adult bookings are. Youth who are detained go through a different intake and housing process. Dependency and family-law records tied to a minor carry additional protections under court rule GR 22. People seeking information about a juvenile case should consult an attorney and contact the Clark County Clerk or the appropriate court division directly, as public-access rules in this area are specific to offense type, age, and case history.

Juvenile Offender Record

Records from cases where a minor is alleged to have committed a criminal act. Restricted under RCW 13.50 with sealing available under RCW 13.50.260.

Dependency Record

Records from cases where the state has intervened in a child's care situation. These are Superior Court files with tight access limits under GR 22.

Adoption Record

Clerk access page classifies adoption records as confidential and not available to the public. RCW 26.33.330 governs access and inspection.

Who Prosecutes and Defends Cases in Clark County

Washington counties use the title "Prosecuting Attorney," not District Attorney. Clark County's elected Prosecuting Attorney is Tony Golik, who has held the office since 2011. Before that, he served as a Deputy Prosecutor from 1996 to 2010, spending ten of those years on Major Crimes teams focusing on Class A felonies and homicide cases. His office at clark.wa.gov/prosecuting-attorney handles all felony and most major misdemeanor prosecutions in Clark County. The office also runs programs including the Children's Justice Center, the Elder Justice Center, and the Clark County Regional Drug Task Force.

On the defense side, Clark County operates a Public Defense department that provides or coordinates legal representation for eligible defendants who cannot afford a private attorney. Court-appointed counsel is requested through the court at the time of arraignment or first appearance. Public Defense then administers indigent-defense services under Washington court rules and statutes governing the right to counsel. People who are not eligible for a public defender can contact the Clark County Law Library or Washington LawHelp for self-help resources.

The screenshot below is from the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik page, which outlines the office's current focus areas and background.

Understanding who prosecutes a case helps when searching records. Felony cases are prosecuted by the Prosecuting Attorney's office in Superior Court. Misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases may be handled by a deputy prosecutor or by a city attorney if filed in a municipal court. The charging decision determines which court file gets created and where the case record lives.

Background Checks and Name-Match Limits

Several official sources feed into a Clark County background check picture. None of them is perfect on its own. The jail roster shows current and recent custody. WSP WATCH shows statewide conviction history. The County Clerk's $5 per-person written verification covers Clark County Superior Court criminal convictions from 1979 forward. The Odyssey Portal shows Superior Court case dockets. District Court has its own records request process for misdemeanor files. Pulling from more than one source gives a more complete view.

Name-based searches carry a specific risk. WSP WATCH itself says that searches by name and date of birth are not always accurate and that only fingerprints positively link a person to a record. Common names produce more false matches. Partial name entries produce missed records. A match on the jail roster means someone with that name was booked, not necessarily the person you are researching. Confirm any result with the originating office before relying on it.

For active warrants in Clark County, the Sheriff's Criminal Records and Warrants Unit can assist. Public hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the phone is 564-397-2211. To report information about a wanted subject, call the same number and select option 3. The Clark County warrant records page covers how warrants are entered and what the public can access.

Clark County Sheriff Criminal Records Unit

The Clark County Sheriff is John Horch, the 35th sheriff of an office founded in 1849. The Sheriff's Office describes itself as Washington's oldest law enforcement agency. The Criminal Records and Warrants Unit inside the Sheriff's Office provides 24-hour support to patrol deputies, facilitates criminal justice processes with courts and other law enforcement entities, and enters data about wanted persons, missing persons, protection orders, and stolen items in state and national criminal information databases.

For requests about jail records beyond the public roster, the Jail Records office handles them through the Public Records Request Portal. Jail Records also processes court orders, calculates sentences, and handles release processing. Bail for arrestees with bail amounts set may be paid at the Clark County Courthouse during normal business hours or at the Clark County Jail Records office after hours. The inmate records and released inmates pages have more on the booking and release process.

Related Clark County Searches

Arrest records connect to several other record types. The list below points to the right pages for common follow-up searches.

• To find someone currently or recently in jail, use the Clark County inmate records page, which covers the roster in more depth along with booking and release processes.
• To check whether someone has an active warrant, see the Clark County warrant records page for contact information and the limits of the public warrant search.
• For full criminal court case files, pleadings, and dispositions in Superior or District Court, go to the court records page.
• For traffic citations and infractions handled by District Court, including DUI cases that become criminal matters, see traffic court records.
• For inmates who have been released from the Clark County Jail and related resources, see the released inmates page.