← The record
Whatcom County

Sheriff & Policing

Enforcement set by a bed count — the booking-restriction policy, on the record.

○ Beat in progress — building out from the source
Record layer. Aggregate, primary-sourced. Officials and attorneys are named in their public roles; individual defendants are never named.

What we track

The booking-restriction policy

Green
Under 300 in custody — all offenses bookable
WCSO policy, eff. 2/1/2025
Yellow
300–319 — misdemeanor warrants & PC-misdemeanor arrests not booked
WCSO policy, eff. 2/1/2025
Red
320+ — gross misdemeanors only with a public-safety element
WCSO policy, eff. 2/1/2025

The jail runs right at the 300 line (recent roster counts 288–307), so the “yellow” restriction is effectively the standing policy. Combined capacity is about 359; the new jail is planned at 450 beds for $205M.

Why it matters

When the jail approaches capacity, the effective enforcement policy changes — not by legislation or court order, but by a bed count. That is a decision with public-safety consequences, made largely out of public view. We publish the policy, the daily count, and the threshold it crosses.

Sources

The signed Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office booking-restriction policy (effective February 1, 2025); daily jail roster counts; county capital-budget documents for the new jail. Population data is aggregate; no individual is named.