Des Moines 24 Hour Booking Lookup
Des Moines 24 Hour Booking records track every new arrest made by the Des Moines Police Department and booked into the SCORE Regional Jail or King County Jail. You can search the live SCORE roster by name to find the booking date, the charges, and the holding pod. Des Moines sits in south King County, and the SCORE facility is located right inside the city limits. Use the tools below to look up a name, pull the 24 hour booking list, and reach the right office for a copy of a jail register entry.
Des Moines Booking Overview
Des Moines Police 24 Hour Booking
The Des Moines Police Department handles all local arrests in the city. Officers book new arrests into the SCORE Regional Jail, which is run by the South Correctional Entity and sits inside Des Moines city limits. For a felony that needs longer holding, the person is often moved to King County Jail in downtown Seattle. The Des Moines Police Department is located at 21260 Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA 98198. The non-emergency line is (206) 878-3301. Call 911 for any emergency.
The Des Moines Police website is the main gateway for records requests, case updates, and 24 hour booking info tied to a local arrest. You can file a public records request from the same page.
SCORE shares all Des Moines bookings on a live inmate lookup. Every person brought in by a Des Moines officer shows up there within a short window of intake. The roster lists the name, booking date, and the charge category.
SCORE Regional Jail Roster Search
The SCORE Jail Inmate Lookup is the fastest place to find a Des Moines 24 hour booking. SCORE stands for South Correctional Entity, and the jail serves Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Renton, SeaTac, Tukwila, and a few other south King County cities. The site shows current inmates, recent bookings, and recent releases. You can search by last name or booking number.
The SCORE facility is at 20817 17th Avenue South, Des Moines. Most Des Moines arrests land there first. A smaller number of cases, like serious felonies, move on to King County Jail under a contract with the county. The roster tool updates as new people come in, so a search run right after an arrest should return a match within a short time.
Use the SCORE lookup for the basics. For anything older, or for a full booking report, file a records request with the Des Moines Police Department or with SCORE directly. The request falls under RCW 42.56, the Washington Public Records Act.
Note: The SCORE roster shows bookings from the last 24 hours as well as the current in custody list, but older entries require a public records request.
King County Jail for Des Moines Cases
Some Des Moines 24 hour booking cases move up to the King County Jail. The King County Jail Subject Lookup shows anyone in the county correctional system by name or booking number. The main facility is the King County Correctional Facility in downtown Seattle. A second site, the Maleng Regional Justice Center, sits in Kent and often takes south county cases.
The King County Sheriff Office runs countywide services and shares jail data with the cities it contracts with. For a Des Moines case, the sheriff site is a good second stop when SCORE does not show the name.
Court dates for Des Moines arrests start at the Des Moines Municipal Court for misdemeanors. Felonies go to King County Superior Court. You can track both in the Odyssey Portal, which hosts most of the state's court records in one search.
What Des Moines Booking Records Show
A Des Moines 24 hour booking entry is the line in the jail register for a new arrest. Under RCW 70.48.100, the register must list the name, the reason for confinement, the date of admission, and the legal authority for the booking. That short list is the public part of the file.
A typical 24 hour booking entry shows:
- Full name and known aliases
- Date and time of booking
- Arresting agency
- Charges or arrest reason
- Bail or bond amount
- Holding facility
Booking photos, medical files, and classification notes are not public. The same jail records law keeps those items confidential. Conviction history is public under RCW 10.97, and the Washington State Patrol WATCH system is the right place for a verified criminal history check.
Requesting Des Moines Jail Records
When the online roster does not show what you need, file a public records request. The Des Moines Police Department has a records officer who takes requests by web form, email, or mail. Keep the request short. Name the date range. Name the person. Ask for the jail register entries that match.
The agency must respond within five business days. The first reply may be a plan for a longer release date if the records take time to pull. Fees in Washington are small. Most local agencies charge 15 cents per printed page and 10 cents per electronic page. The Open Government Resource Manual from the state Attorney General walks through the full process step by step.
For victim notification, use VINELink. VINE sends free alerts by phone, email, or text when a person's custody status changes at most Washington jails, SCORE included.
Note: A Des Moines records request under RCW 42.56 must get a first reply from the agency within five business days, even if the full release takes longer.
Des Moines Courts and Related Records
Misdemeanor cases from a Des Moines 24 hour booking go to the Des Moines Municipal Court. Felony cases move to King County Superior Court in Seattle or Kent. Both courts post case files in the state Washington Courts case search and the Odyssey Portal.
For background guidance, the MRSC jail services page explains how Washington cities and counties run their facilities and what they release. The MRSC criminal history guide covers what the state treats as a public arrest record versus a private one.
Des Moines Legal Aid and Criminal History
Families searching for a Des Moines 24 hour booking late at night often need more than a roster. The Northwest Justice Project offers free civil legal help across King County. The CLEAR hotline at 1-888-201-1014 takes weekday calls and can route a person to the right local office. For criminal defense, the King County Department of Public Defense takes new appointments after the first court date in the Des Moines Municipal Court or King County Superior Court.
For a verified statewide criminal history check on a name tied to a Des Moines case, the WSP WATCH program under RCW 10.97 is the official source. WATCH does not show fresh Des Moines bookings, but it confirms past convictions tied to a name. Use it as a backup when the SCORE roster does not return a match. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs sets the jail standards SCORE follows.
Note: The SCORE jail in Des Moines is the only large jail in the city, so almost every Des Moines 24 hour booking starts at the same address on 17th Avenue South.
Nearby Cities and Parent County
Des Moines is part of King County. Nearby cities with their own 24 hour booking pages include Federal Way, Seattle, and Bellevue.