University Place Jail Mugshots
University Place jail mugshots come from arrests made in the city and booked into the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma. The city does not run its own police force or its own jail. It contracts with the Pierce County Sheriff for law enforcement. That means every booking photo, every jail roster entry, and every arrest record tied to University Place flows through Pierce County systems. You can search inmate booking photos, find current jail roster data, and look up court case files through the Pierce County LINX portal. This page shows you where to look and how to get the records you need.
University Place Overview
University Place Jail Mugshots and Bookings
University Place is a small city on the west side of Tacoma. It has no city jail. Arrests made in the city go to the Pierce County Jail in downtown Tacoma. The booking photo is taken there. The booking record is held there. The jail roster you search is the Pierce County roster. If you want a University Place arrest record, you are really looking at a Pierce County record. The city and county set this up through an interlocal contract that covers patrols, investigations, and booking.
The University Place Police Department is located at 3609 Market Place West, University Place, WA 98466. You can reach them at 253-798-7530. The office is small. Staff handle community questions, local patrol dispatch, and some records tasks. Arrest records and booking photos are not stored there. Those are held by the Pierce County Sheriff. See RCW 70.48.100 for the law that makes a jail register public. Pierce County keeps the register in line with that rule.
Note: Most University Place mugshot searches are handled through Pierce County tools, not city systems.
Pierce County LINX Jail Roster
The main tool for University Place jail mugshots is the Pierce County LINX system. LINX lets you search criminal cases and the jail roster for all of Pierce County, which includes every arrest made in University Place. You can view the full roster or search by an inmate's last name. Each booking entry shows charges, booking date, and links to related Superior Court case files.
The LINX portal includes the Pierce County LINX Jail Roster image below, which shows the public search form arrestees' families use every day. The Pierce County LINX online portal shows the live search tool and jail roster interface.
This is where most people start when they look for a booking photo tied to a University Place arrest. The search is free. It runs in any browser.
LINX covers all law enforcement agencies within Pierce County. That means University Place Police, Pierce County Sheriff deputies, Washington State Patrol, and federal agencies working in the county all feed into the same roster. Subscriptions are needed to pull full Superior Court documents, but the jail roster itself is free. Court calendars and in-custody arraignment lists are also open to the public.
How to Search University Place Jail Mugshots
To find a booking record for a University Place arrest, start at the LINX jail roster. Enter the last name. If you get too many hits, add the first name. Each match shows the booking date, charges, bail amount, and a link to the case file. For the mugshot image itself, click through to the inmate detail page. Pierce County posts a booking photo on most adult bookings.
If the person is no longer in custody, the LINX roster will not show them. In that case, you need to search the Pierce County Sheriff records unit for an arrest report, or check the Superior Court case docket. The Washington Courts case search is a backup that covers every county. You can type a name and see every case tied to it across the state.
Helpful details to speed up your search:
- Full legal name of the person
- Approximate booking date
- Booking number if you have it
- Case number from any court paperwork
If you hit a dead end online, call the Pierce County Jail directly or visit the Pierce County Sheriff Public Disclosure Unit in person. Staff can help confirm whether a booking record exists and how to request a copy under RCW 42.56.
University Place Police and South Sound 911
University Place police incident reports run through South Sound 911, the regional dispatch and records system. South Sound 911 handles calls for service, dispatch logs, and some report distribution for cities in Pierce County. If you need an initial incident report tied to an arrest, South Sound 911 is often the first stop. For the full arrest file and booking photo, the Pierce County Sheriff holds the record.
Public records requests for University Place police matters should be directed to the Pierce County Sheriff Public Disclosure Unit or to South Sound 911, depending on what you want. The split can be confusing. As a rule, mugshots and jail bookings are Sheriff records. Radio logs and call histories are South Sound 911 records.
Note: State law under RCW 42.56 gives agencies five business days to respond to a public records request.
Lakewood Municipal Court Case Records
Court records for University Place misdemeanor cases go through Lakewood Municipal Court. The court sits at 6000 Main Street SW, Lakewood, WA 98499, and can be reached at (253) 512-2258. This court serves a consortium of Lakewood, University Place, Steilacoom, and DuPont. Case record requests should go to citycourt@cityoflakewood.us.
Felony cases from University Place arrests move to Pierce County Superior Court. Those files are searchable in LINX and in the statewide case search run by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Booking photos stay in the jail record system even after a case moves to court. The photo is tied to the booking, not the case, so the mugshot does not disappear when the court case ends.
If you need a certified copy of a court record, contact the court clerk directly. For the mugshot itself, contact the Pierce County Sheriff. These are two different agencies with two different request paths.
Pierce County Jail Facility Details
The Pierce County Jail is at 910 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma, WA 98402. It is the main booking site for every law enforcement agency in Pierce County, including University Place Police. The jail holds both pretrial detainees and sentenced inmates with short terms. Inmate visits, bail posting, and property pickups all happen at this building.
The jail roster is updated throughout the day. Under RCW 70.48.100, Washington law treats the jail register as a public record. That includes name, charges, and booking time. Photos are handled separately and may require a direct request through the Sheriff's records unit.
Washington also runs the VINELink victim notification service. Victims and families can sign up for free alerts when an inmate is released, transferred, or has a court date. The system covers University Place bookings because they sit in Pierce County Jail.
Statewide Backup Searches
If the Pierce County tools do not show what you need, the state has its own lookup tools. The Washington DOC incarcerated search shows people in state prisons, not county jails, but is useful if a University Place case ended in a prison sentence. The Washington State Patrol WATCH program runs official criminal history checks. It covers convictions statewide and requires a fee per search.
The statewide court search at the Washington Courts site is another option. You can pull every case tied to a name across every court in the state. That is often the fastest way to confirm that a University Place arrest actually ended in a filed charge. For older records, some counties still require an in-person visit to the clerk's office.
Note: Always verify a mugshot match with a second source before you rely on it, as name collisions are common in public databases.
Pierce County Jail Mugshots
University Place bookings are Pierce County bookings. The county page has a deeper breakdown of the jail, the LINX system, and the Sheriff's records unit. Visit the Pierce County jail mugshots page for the full county-level guide.
Nearby Cities
These nearby cities also book arrestees into Pierce County Jail or neighboring county facilities.