Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Orleans Parish, Louisiana, has about 363,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by one city agency and six campus agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the booking at the parish jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the District Court for Orleans Parish. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Orleans Parish public records, Louisiana arrest records, Louisiana inmate search and Louisiana criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Orleans Parish
The Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website is the county law enforcement agency of Orleans Parish.
One city in Orleans Parish reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- New Orleans, 362,701 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Orleans Parish: University of New Orleans, Delgado Community College, Southern University and A&M College: New Orleans and Louisiana State University: Health Sciences Center, New Orleans and two more (campus police).
Booking: Where People Arrested in Orleans Parish Are Held
A person held after an arrest in Orleans Parish is booked into the parish jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The booking record, with the charges, is the first public record of the arrest; once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 1,110 people, down from about 1,190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 2,081 beds, and it ran at 53 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website at opso.gov (page title: Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections lists its inmates at doc.la.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Orleans Parish
For Orleans Parish the place to look is the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at orleansda.com/home).
Louisiana does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Orleans Parish
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Louisiana Public Records Law the agency must answer within 3 business days when the record is not immediately available, and it may charge a reasonable fee for copies.
- An arrest by the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in New Orleans: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by University of New Orleans, Delgado Community College or Southern University and A&M College: New Orleans: that agency's own records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any parish record that is not posted: the parish records request page SearchSystems verified is at nola.gov/public-records-requests (page title: Services | Public Records | Request City Records or Information | Public Records Requests | City of New Orlean).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
Cities in Orleans Parish: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the one city in Orleans Parish: New Orleans.
Wherever in the parish the arrest happens, the booking is at the parish jail and the case goes to the District Court for Orleans Parish.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Orleans Parish?
Ask the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at opso.gov.
Where are people arrested in Orleans Parish booked?
In the parish jail, run by the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website.
Are arrest records public in Orleans Parish?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Orleans Parish are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Louisiana Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Orleans Parish?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Louisiana Public Records Law the answer is due within 3 business days when the record is not immediately available; the parish records request page SearchSystems verified is at nola.gov/public-records-requests.
Is this the official Orleans Parish website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official parish, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.