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 between September 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
North Adams, Massachusetts, in Berkshire County, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Massachusetts the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Clerk of Courts; the statewide criminal history kept by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services is open to anyone who asks. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from North Adams is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: North Adams public records, Berkshire County criminal records, North Adams arrest records, North Adams warrants, North Adams inmate search, North Adams court records, Massachusetts arrest records and Massachusetts inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Berkshire County Superior Court
In Massachusetts the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from North Adams are heard by the Berkshire County Superior Court, which hears felonies and civil cases over $50,000; the District Court and Boston Municipal Court take misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and civil cases up to $50,000, and the file of each case is kept by the Clerk of Courts.
For Berkshire County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at mass.gov/locations/berkshire-county-superior-court (page title: Berkshire County Superior Court), phone (413) 499-7487, 76 East St., Pittsfield, MA 01201, Monday - Friday: 8:30 am-4:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, masscourts.org is the Massachusetts Trial Court's free online case search.
The Massachusetts Criminal History and Your Own Copy
Massachusetts is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: open access iCORI lets anyone request limited conviction information by name, for $25 a search, through the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. The result is the repository record, what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it. The search is on the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services site.
To see your own record, the route is a personal CORI request, free once a year online. The state page SearchSystems verified for it is at mass.gov/massachusetts-criminal-offender-record-information-cori.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in North Adams
The Berkshire County Sheriff's Office - and the agency that reports for North Adams (filed by the FBI as North Adams Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around North Adams: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Berkshire County: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (campus police); the Berkshire County State Police (state police); each keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the 18 agencies in Berkshire County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,310 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in North Adams arrest records.
The Sex Offender Registry for North Adams
Registered sex offenders living in North Adams are listed on the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry, run by the Sex Offender Registry Board at mass.gov/information-about-sex-offenders. Level 2 and Level 3 offenders are listed online; Level 1 offenders are not.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Berkshire County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Massachusetts Public Records Law a county office must answer a request within 10 business days, and it may charge staff time after the first four hours for towns and two for the state, plus copying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in North Adams?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services: open access iCORI lets anyone request limited conviction information by name, for $25. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Massachusetts Public Records Law.
Can I search North Adams criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at mass.gov (page title: Berkshire County Superior Court). Statewide, masscourts.org is the Massachusetts Trial Court's free online case search.
How do I get my own Massachusetts criminal history?
Through a personal CORI request, free once a year online.
Is this the official North Adams website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.