Island County’s jail roster goes online

For the first time, anyone with access to the Internet can peek inside the Island County jail.

For the first time, anyone with access to the Internet can peek inside the Island County jail.

In conjunction with the county’s new website, the jail roster is now online.

The website lists all inmates and provides arrest date, the arresting agency, bail amount and a description of the suspected crime. Additional tabs show who is booked into the jail each day and lists everyone who has been released; it allows people to sign up for notifications when an inmate is released.

Jose Briones, the jail chief, said state law requires the jail to make the roster available to the public and most jails in the state already have them online.

“It’s a worthwhile tool for people to have,” he said.

As of Friday morning, the jail had 44 inmates.

“Wonder Woman” was listed as being released from jail, but Briones explained that it’s just a name that the corrections officers used for training. He clarified that the comic-book hero was neither arrested nor incarcerated in Island County.

Sheriff Mark Brown said his office had input on the new website and he’s very pleased with the results.

In addition, he said, the county’s IT people are currently working on adding Google Earth function to the website that will show where crimes were reported through 911 in real time.

“People will be able to look at it and say, ‘Wow, we had 17 car prowls in our neighborhood last night,’” Brown said.

The jail roster is online at www.islandcountywa.gov/Corrections/Pages/JailRoster.aspx#