Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
New Haven County is a county in Connecticut, and arrests there are made by the state police or the town police, with eight city agencies reporting to the FBI. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at a facility of the Connecticut Department of Correction, and, if the State's Attorney files charges, a case in the Connecticut Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: New Haven County public records, Connecticut arrest records, Connecticut inmate search and Connecticut criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in New Haven County
Connecticut has no county sheriff with a patrol role. Arrests in New Haven County are made by the state police or the town police, and in Connecticut the police for a given address is the town police in a town with its own department and the state police elsewhere.
Arrests inside eight of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- New Haven, 137,562 residents: 5,974 arrests reported for 2025.
- Waterbury, 115,908 residents: 5,508 arrests reported for 2025.
- Meriden, 60,849 residents: 1,265 arrests reported for 2025.
- West Haven, 55,379 residents: 919 arrests reported for 2024.
- Milford, 53,396 residents: 907 arrests reported for 2025.
- Naugatuck, 32,116 residents: 815 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ansonia, 19,195 residents: 835 arrests reported for 2025.
- Derby, 12,915 residents: 466 arrests reported for 2025.
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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in New Haven County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- New Haven: 5,974 for 2025, 6,421 for 2024, 6,616 for 2023, 6,329 for 2022, 6,696 for 2021 and 6,529 for 2020.
- Waterbury: 5,508 for 2025, 4,989 for 2024, 4,558 for 2023, 4,661 for 2022, 4,886 for 2021 and 4,548 for 2020.
- Meriden: 1,265 for 2025, 1,203 for 2024, 1,481 for 2023, 1,918 for 2022, 1,727 for 2021 and 1,948 for 2020.
- Milford: 907 for 2025, 1,064 for 2024, 839 for 2023, 719 for 2022, 594 for 2021 and 762 for 2020.
- Ansonia: 835 for 2025, 818 for 2022, 677 for 2021, 664 for 2020 and 849 for 2019; 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- Naugatuck: 815 for 2025, 754 for 2024, 1,034 for 2021, 913 for 2020 and 1,265 for 2019; 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Derby: 466 for 2025, 413 for 2024, 444 for 2023, 402 for 2022, 392 for 2021 and 374 for 2020.
- West Haven: 919 for 2024, 892 for 2023, 1,204 for 2022, 1,208 for 2021, 1,120 for 2020 and 1,314 for 2019.
Together, the seven agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 15,770 arrests that year. The six of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 14,935 in 2025 against 14,844 in 2024, up 0.6 percent.
Through June 2026, the six agencies with every month so far on file reported 4,472 arrests, against 4,939 in the same months of 2025.
West Haven reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in New Haven County Are Held
In Connecticut the jails belong to the state. Anyone held after an arrest in New Haven County is booked into a facility of the Connecticut Department of Correction, and the inmate lookup is the state's.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Connecticut Department of Correction lists its inmates at portal.ct.gov/DOC/Miscellaneous/Inmate-Information.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in New Haven County
An arrest in New Haven County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the Connecticut Department of Correction's inmate locator, for anyone held; the case index of the Connecticut Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at jud.ct.gov/jud2.htm).
Statewide, Judicial Branch Case Look-up is the Connecticut Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
Connecticut is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: conviction records are public and can be requested on anyone by name, through the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification. 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 New Haven 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 Connecticut Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer promptly; a request not answered in 4 business days is treated as denied and can be appealed, and it may charge the copy fees set by statute.
- An arrest in New Haven, Waterbury, Meriden, West Haven, Milford, Naugatuck or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Connecticut Superior Court, through the court records page at jud.ct.gov/jud2.htm.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the State Police Bureau of Identification.
Cities in New Haven County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for eight of the nine cities in New Haven County: New Haven, Waterbury, Meriden, West Haven, Milford, Naugatuck, Ansonia and Derby. Woodmont has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in New Haven County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in New Haven County each year?
New Haven reported 5,974 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the seven agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 15,770 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in New Haven County?
Through the Connecticut Department of Correction's inmate locator at portal.ct.gov; the department holds everyone in custody in Connecticut.
Where are people arrested in New Haven County booked?
In a facility of the Connecticut Department of Correction, which runs every jail in Connecticut.
Are arrest records public in New Haven County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification: conviction records are public and can be requested on anyone by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in New Haven County?
From the agency that made the arrest: in Connecticut, the state police or the town police. Under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act the answer is due promptly; a request not answered in 4 business days is treated as denied and can be appealed.
Is this the official New Haven 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.