Search Kennewick Inmate Population Records
Kennewick inmate population records are held at the Benton County Jail, which books and houses people arrested by the Kennewick Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the Tri-Cities area. The jail maintains a public online roster that lets you search current detainees by name, subject number, booking number, or booking date. This page explains how to use that system, what the records show, and where to look when the person you need is not in the county jail database.
Kennewick Jail Overview
Where Kennewick Arrests Are Processed
When Kennewick Police make an arrest, the person goes to the Benton County Jail at 7122 W Okanogan Place Building B, Kennewick, WA 99336. The jail phone number is 509-783-1451. Benton County Corrections runs the facility and handles both pre-trial detainees and people serving sentences of under one year. The jail also operates alternative programs for some low-risk individuals.
Kennewick is the largest city in Benton County, with a population of around 84,000. It sits at the center of the Tri-Cities metro area alongside Richland and Pasco. Because all three cities share Benton County (and adjacent Franklin County for Pasco), the Benton County Jail serves as the primary short-term custody facility for a large region. The jail roster reflects this: it includes housing assignments for both Benton County Corrections and Benton County Alternative Programs.
| Facility | Benton County Jail |
|---|---|
| Address | 7122 W Okanogan Place Building B, Kennewick, WA 99336 |
| Phone | 509-783-1451 |
| Kennewick Police | 211 W 6th Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336 |
| Police Phone | 509-585-4200 |
| Housing Options | Benton County Corrections; Benton County Alternative Programs |
Alternative programs at Benton County include work release, electronic home monitoring, and other supervised options. If you search the online roster and see an inmate listed under Benton County Alternative Programs, that person is not housed in the main jail building. They may be at a community location or monitored remotely. You can still view their custody record through the same online search portal.
How to Search the Kennewick Inmate Roster
The Benton County Jail offers two separate online tools for checking the current inmate population. The first is an interactive search portal. The second is a daily jail roster PDF. Both are public records provided under state law.
The interactive search portal is available at the Benton County inmate inquiry system. You can search by last name, first name, subject number, booking number, or a date range for booking date. The portal also lets you filter results to show only individuals currently in custody, which helps narrow down the list. Each record shows the inmate's name, housing facility, charges, and booking information.
The screenshot below shows the Benton County inmate search portal, which handles all Kennewick inmate population lookups along with arrests from Richland, Prosser, and other county cities.
Using this portal is the fastest way to check whether someone arrested in Kennewick is currently in custody and to see their housing assignment.
The second option is the daily jail roster, published as a PDF on the Benton County website. This roster is updated each day and shows everyone held at the facility as of that date. You can find it at the Benton County daily jail roster page. The roster is a simpler list than the interactive search, but it works well if you want a snapshot of the full inmate population for a specific date.
The screenshot below is from the Benton County daily roster page, which publishes a date-stamped list of all current Kennewick and Benton County detainees.
If you need records from a past date, the daily PDF may not be archived online. In that case, submit a written public records request to the Benton County Jail or Kennewick Police Department directly.
Note: If the person you are looking for does not appear in the Benton County system, they may have been released, transferred to a state DOC facility, or held in Franklin County if the arrest occurred in Pasco.
Public Records Rights for Kennewick Inmate Population
Washington's Public Records Act under RCW 42.56 gives the public broad access to government records, including jail booking logs, arrest records, and inmate rosters. You do not need to explain why you want the records. Agencies have five business days to respond and must either provide the records, give a timeline, or ask for clarification.
Jail registers fall under RCW 70.48.100, which requires county jails to keep a public record of every person confined. That record must include the person's name, the date and time they were booked, and how they were released. Benton County's public online roster satisfies this requirement. The roster is available without a formal request; you just access it through the web portal.
For records not available online, contact Kennewick Police at 211 W 6th Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336, phone 509-585-4200. The Benton County Jail can be reached at 509-783-1451. Written requests tend to move faster than walk-in requests for older or archived records.
VINE Custody Alerts for Kennewick Inmates
VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) is a free, anonymous service that tracks custody changes at the Benton County Jail and other Washington facilities. If you need to know when a Kennewick inmate is released, transferred, or has a court appearance, register through VINELink.com. The system can notify you by phone, text message, or email. You do not have to give your name to register.
VINE is run statewide by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. It covers both county jails and Washington State DOC facilities. Updates come through roughly every 15 minutes, so alerts are fairly current. If an inmate is transferred from Benton County to a DOC prison, VINE can track that move too, as long as you registered for that person's alerts. This is especially useful for victims and family members who need ongoing notice.
Court Records for Kennewick Cases
An arrest record shows what charges were filed at booking. It does not show what happened in court after that. To find how a case was resolved, you need to search court records separately through courts.wa.gov. The Washington Courts public case search covers Superior Court, District Court, and Municipal Court records statewide.
For Kennewick cases, felony charges go through Benton County Superior Court. Misdemeanor cases are handled by Benton County District Court or Kennewick Municipal Court, depending on the charge and jurisdiction. Both are accessible through the state courts search portal. The courts.wa.gov portal is free to use and covers case filings, hearing dates, and dispositions.
Keep in mind that court records and jail records are maintained by separate agencies. A person may show as released from jail but still have an active court case. Always check both systems if you need the full picture of a case.
State Resources for Kennewick Inmate Searches
If someone was convicted of a felony in Kennewick and sentenced to more than one year, they will serve that time in a Washington State DOC facility, not the county jail. The Washington DOC incarcerated person search covers all 10 state prisons and reentry centers. Search by name or DOC number to find current facility assignment and release date information.
The Washington State Patrol runs the WATCH system at watch.wsp.wa.gov. This is a fingerprint-based criminal history database. It costs $11 per search and covers statewide conviction records plus arrests within the past year that have not yet been resolved. WATCH is more thorough than a name-only search and is a good choice when you need verified background information on someone from Kennewick.
The statutes that govern public access to jail records in Washington are available through the RCW 42.56 public records portal and RCW 70.48.100 on jail registers. Both are hosted on the official Washington State Legislature website.
Benton County Inmate Population Records
Kennewick is in Benton County. The county page covers the Benton County Jail in detail, including its alternative programs, the full roster search tool, and other resources for searching Benton County inmate population records.
Nearby Cities
Richland and Pasco are the other two cities in the Tri-Cities area and share the same region's jail and court systems.