Kittitas County Inmate Population at a Glance
The Kittitas County inmate population is centered on one local jail: Kittitas County Jail, also called the Kittitas County Corrections Center or KCJ in county material. The jail is operated by the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office and holds people arrested by local agencies, pretrial detainees, local sentenced inmates, and people waiting for court action or transfer. City police agencies in Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Roslyn, Kittitas, and other local jurisdictions use the county jail rather than a separate public municipal jail roster located in official sources.
The population count rises and falls with bookings, bond decisions, court orders, releases, and transfers. A person arrested in Kittitas County may begin in KCJ, appear on the sheriff's roster, and later move to Washington DOC if sentenced to state custody. Federal and immigration custody are separate systems. No Washington DOC prison, BOP facility, ICE detention center, or U.S. Marshals detention facility was found in Kittitas County during research, so county jail data and statewide fallback locators have to be read together.
Kittitas County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest current capacity source is the official jail page, which says the jail's 2012 Annex brought total capacity to 209 beds. Older statistical sources give useful trend context. The 2016 sheriff annual report listed design capacity as 229, average daily population as 81, and average length of stay as 7 days. A county/CWU document listed 2019 jail ADP as 95, while a WSU and Washington Rural Jails Network fact sheet described 2018 average daily population as around 100.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Current official jail capacity | 209 beds | Kittitas County Jail page, inspected July 2, 2026 |
| Historical design capacity | 229 | Kittitas County Sheriff's Office Annual Report, 2016 |
| Average daily population | 81 | 2016 Sheriff's Office Annual Report |
| Average length of stay | 7 days | 2016 Sheriff's Office Annual Report |
| Point-in-time roster count | 123 current rows | Official roster HTML, July 2, 2026 |
Kittitas County Jail Population Trends
Kittitas County Jail grew from a small 1980s jail built for about 45 inmates into a larger county corrections center after the 2012 Annex. That expansion is the main local population fact because it explains why later ADP figures sit below the current official capacity. The 2026 roster count is a one-day public count, not an annual average, so it should not be treated as a formal trend by itself.
| Year / Date | ADP or Count | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 81 ADP | Annual report listed 229 design capacity and 7-day average stay. |
| 2018 | Around 100 ADP | WSU fact sheet described KCJ as a medium-sized jail. |
| 2019 | 95 ADP | County/CWU demographic comparison table. |
| July 2, 2026 | 123 current rows | Point-in-time roster count, not official ADP. |
Who Makes Up Kittitas County Inmates
The Kittitas County inmate population is mostly a county jail population, not a state prison count. Research found local pretrial and short-sentence custody, jail programs such as work release and school release, and people waiting for court or transfer. The WSU fact sheet found that from 2015 through August 2020, most people booked pretrial had misdemeanor charges and stayed nearly two weeks on average.
- Sex breakdown: the 2016 annual report listed male ADP 66 and female ADP 15.
- Race and ethnicity: the 2016 report snippet listed White 64, Black 3, Hispanic 11, Native American 2, and Pacific Islander 0.
- Pretrial bookings: WSU reported 69% misdemeanor charges for pretrial bookings from 2015 to August 2020.
- State prison count: no state prison facility was found in Kittitas County on the WA DOC prison map.
Kittitas County Jail Capacity
The official jail page gives 209 beds as the current capacity after the 2012 Annex. The 2016 annual report lists a different design capacity of 229, so the safer current figure is the jail page number and the older number should be read as a historical or reporting difference. Using the July 2, 2026 public roster count of 123 current rows against the 209-bed official capacity gives about 58.9% point-in-time use. That is only a snapshot. It is not the same as average daily population.
Capacity note: Current jail capacity comes from the official jail page; older annual-report design capacity is preserved as a sourced discrepancy.
Laws Governing Kittitas County Inmate Records
Washington law explains why the roster exists and why some jail records stay off the public page. RCW 70.48.100 requires a jail register open to the public, including name, confinement timing and cause, and discharge timing and manner. The same statute treats other jail records as confidential unless a legal exception applies. Public-records requests still run through Chapter 42.56 RCW, but an exemption or confidentiality law can limit release.
Key Statutes:
RCW 70.48.100 makes the jail register public and limits release of other confined-person jail records.
Chapter 42.56 RCW is Washington's Public Records Act for identifiable agency records.
RCW 70.48.510 requires review of unexpected city and county jail fatalities.
How to Search Kittitas County Inmates
The official Kittitas County Jail Roster is the first source for current county jail custody. It lists people currently housed at KCJ and people previously housed in the past three days. The roster is a public table, not a name-search form, so the practical search method is to scan the table, sort by visible columns, or use browser find for a last name.
- Open the official roster and read the notice about current custody and past-three-day releases.
- Check the in-custody table first, then the recently released table if the person is not listed.
- Use the Name or Arrest Date column sorting when it helps narrow a long table.
- Open Details for city, state, age, sex, arrest date, release status, and offenses.
- Use the VINE link for custody notification, or call the jail if the roster does not answer the custody question.
Kittitas County Roster Search Fields
The Kittitas County inmate roster does not offer a booking-number field, date picker, facility dropdown, export tool, or login wall. Each visible row has the public jail-register fields and controls that the sheriff publishes. The captured public view showed sortable Name and Arrest Date links, a Details button, and a VINE link on each listed person.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| In custody / Recently released | Section | No | Recently released covers people housed in the past three days. |
| Name | Sortable column | No | Displayed last-name first; useful with browser find. |
| Age | Table column | No | Numeric age when published. |
| Local ID | Table column | No | County local identifier on current rows. |
| Details | Button | No | Opens the public detail panel for offenses and status. |
| VINE | Link | No | Routes to custody notification registration. |
The official roster screenshot shows the current table layout with Details buttons and VINE links.
The table format is why a Kittitas County inmate search often means browsing the roster rather than typing into a county search form.
What Kittitas County Inmate Records Show
A public Kittitas County inmate record is limited. The main row can show name, age, city and state, local ID, arrest date, Details, and VINE. The Details panel adds city and state, age, sex, arrest date, release status, and offenses. It does not publish every jail file field. Bond, housing unit, court date, arresting agency, and medical or classification records were not visible in the public roster source reviewed.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Person listed last-name first on the public roster. |
| Arrest Date | Date and time shown by the jail table. |
| Released Date | Release time for released rows or in-custody status for current rows. |
| Offenses | Booking offense text in the Details panel. |
| VINE | Notification route for custody-status changes. |
Kittitas County Jail vs State Prison
A Kittitas County jail lookup and a Washington DOC search answer different questions. The county roster covers local jail custody and recent releases from KCJ. The WA DOC incarcerated search covers people in state DOC custody after sentencing or transfer. Federal prison placement uses the BOP inmate locator. Immigration custody uses ICE ODLS.
| Custody Type | Use This Source | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| County jail | Kittitas County Jail Roster | Current KCJ custody and past-three-day releases. |
| State prison | Washington DOC locator | Sentenced state custody and DOC-managed incarceration. |
| Federal custody | BOP inmate locator | Federal sentenced inmates and certain former federal inmates. |
| Immigration custody | ICE ODLS | Detainees in ICE custody after transfer or federal processing. |
Kittitas County Detention Facilities
The Facility Map resolves one detention facility for this build. Kittitas County Jail is the county-run jail for local bookings and confinement. The jail serves the county's local law enforcement population, while state, federal, and immigration systems are fallback searches when custody has moved out of the county jail.
- Kittitas County Jail - county jail and corrections center for pretrial, local sentenced, and transfer-related custody.
Kittitas County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Kittitas County inmate population?
The best formal ADP figures in the research are 81 in 2016, around 100 in 2018, and 95 in 2019. The July 2, 2026 public roster showed 123 current rows, but that is a point-in-time count rather than official annual population data.
How do I search Kittitas County inmates?
Start with the sheriff's jail roster. If the person is not in the current table, check the recently released section, call KCJ at 509-962-7527, or file a public-records request for older booking records.
Does Kittitas County have a state prison?
No Washington DOC prison facility was found in Kittitas County on the DOC prison map. After a state sentence or transfer, use the statewide DOC incarcerated search instead of the county roster.