Garfield County Arrest Records

Garfield County arrest records are handled by the Garfield County Sheriff's Office in Pomeroy, Washington. As Washington's smallest county by population, Garfield County runs a lean operation, but most arrest and incident records are still public under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). You can request records through the Sheriff's public disclosure process, and this page explains how to do that, what information is typically available, and where to look for statewide criminal records.

Garfield County Sheriff's Office

The Garfield County Sheriff's Office is led by Sheriff Drew W. Hyer, who was sworn in on December 1, 2017. The Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency for all of Garfield County. Services include patrol, criminal investigations, civil process serving, and emergency management coordination. Because the county is small and rural, the Sheriff's Office handles calls across a wide area with limited resources.

The Garfield County Jail is located at 789 West Main Street in Pomeroy. The facility's phone number is 509-843-3494. The jail primarily holds people awaiting trial and those serving short misdemeanor sentences. For people sentenced to longer terms, the Washington Department of Corrections manages placement at a state facility. Pre-trial detainees in Garfield County may also be transferred to a neighboring county jail if space is needed.

The Garfield County Sheriff page has contact information, department news, and details on the services the office provides to county residents.

For routine questions about an arrest or case, start by calling the Sheriff's Office directly. Staff can tell you whether a request needs to go through the formal public disclosure process.

How to Request Garfield County Arrest Records

To get copies of arrest reports, incident reports, or other records from the Garfield County Sheriff's Office, you need to submit a Public Disclosure Request using the GCSO form. The form is available through the Garfield County public disclosure request page. Once you complete the form, submit it to the sheriff's records clerk, either in person, by mail, or by following the submission instructions on the page.

Your request will be processed faster if you include specific details. Give the date and location of the incident, the case number if you have it, and the names of the people involved. Broad or vague requests take longer because staff must search through more records to determine what's responsive. Under RCW 42.56.520, the office has five business days to respond. That response may include the records or an estimated completion date for larger or more complex requests.

Fees for records copies are set by county resolution and follow standard rates for paper copies, electronic records, and postage. Ask the records clerk about the current fee schedule when you submit your request. In some cases, records may be provided at no charge, particularly if they are delivered electronically and require minimal staff time.

The Garfield County public disclosure request form is required for obtaining copies of arrest reports and other GCSO records.

Submit the completed form to the Sheriff's records clerk. You can track the status of your request by contacting the office during business hours.

What Records Are Available

Most incident and arrest reports from the Garfield County Sheriff's Office are public under RCW 42.56. That includes reports documenting arrests, calls for service, and investigations that have been completed or closed. Ongoing investigation files may be withheld while the investigation is active, but a completed report is generally available upon request.

Jail roster information is public under RCW 70.48.100, which requires jails to make basic inmate information available. That covers names, booking dates and times, causes of confinement, and discharge information. If you need to know whether someone is currently in custody at the Garfield County Jail, contact the jail directly at 509-843-3494.

Records that may be withheld or redacted include personal identifying information for juveniles, victim contact information in domestic violence cases, information that could interfere with an active investigation, and certain law enforcement intelligence data. When records are withheld, the agency must identify which exemption applies.

The Garfield County Sheriff FAQs page addresses common questions about what records are available, how the request process works, and what exemptions may apply.

The Garfield County Sheriff FAQ page answers common questions about public records and what information the office can provide.

If you have questions about a specific record type, review the FAQ page first. It may answer your question without the need to file a formal request.

Washington State Law and Criminal History

Washington's Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) gives everyone the right to access government records. The law applies to all state and local agencies, including the Garfield County Sheriff's Office. Records are presumed public unless a specific exemption in state law applies. The agency bears the burden of justifying any withholding.

For criminal history specifically, RCW 10.97.050 governs how records can be used and shared. Conviction data is public and freely accessible. Non-conviction data, like arrests that didn't lead to charges or cases that were dismissed, has stricter rules on how it can be shared or used. If you need a complete criminal history check, the Washington State Patrol's WATCH system provides statewide name-based checks for $11. That system searches the full state criminal history database, not just Garfield County records.

For people serving time with the Washington Department of Corrections, you can search the DOC offender search online at no charge. This is separate from local jail records and covers people sentenced to more than a year at a state facility.

Court case records for Garfield County are available through the Washington Courts case search portal. You can search by name or case number and see charges, case status, and hearing dates for Superior Court and District Court cases. This resource is free and doesn't require a records request to the Sheriff's Office.

Victim notification is handled through VINELink, which is a statewide service that alerts registered users when an inmate's custody status changes. Registration is free. For Garfield County cases where someone may be transferred to another facility, VINE tracks movement across county lines.

Cities in Garfield County

All arrests in Garfield County are handled through the Sheriff's Office in Pomeroy, which serves as the county's sole law enforcement agency at the county level.

No cities in Garfield County currently have a dedicated arrest records page in this directory. Pomeroy is the county seat and largest community. For arrest records related to any Garfield County location, contact the Sheriff's Office at 509-843-3494.

Nearby Counties

Garfield County is in the southeastern corner of Washington and borders several other counties with their own records systems.