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.
Queens County, New York, has about 2.3 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Queens County Supreme and County Courts. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Queens County public records, New York arrest records, New York inmate search and New York criminal records.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Queens County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Queens County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 1,720 people, down from about 3,460 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,988 beds, and it ran at 81 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, whose inmate locator is at nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Queens County
For Queens County the place to look is eCourts, the Unified Court System's free online case search (WebCivil, WebCrims and WebFamily), which shows whether charges were filed.
New York is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Office of Court Administration sells a statewide search of criminal court records by name and date of birth, for $95 a search, through the New York State Office of Court Administration. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Queens County
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 Freedom of Information Law the agency must answer within 5 business days, at least with an acknowledgment and a date for the full answer, and it may charge copying at 25 cents a page.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based Record Review through the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are people arrested in Queens County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Queens County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the New York State Office of Court Administration: the Office of Court Administration sells a statewide search of criminal court records by name and date of birth, for $95. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Freedom of Information Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Queens County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the sheriff's office or the city's police. Under the Freedom of Information Law the answer is due within 5 business days, at least with an acknowledgment and a date for the full answer.
Is this the official Queens County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.