Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime 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 October 2, 2026.
Essex County, Massachusetts, has about 824,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Essex County depends on where the incident happened: the Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Massachusetts Public Records Law requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Essex County public records, Essex County arrest records, Essex County warrants, Essex County inmate search, Essex County criminal records, Massachusetts arrest records and Massachusetts inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Essex County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In Essex County that is the Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
The FBI's list also places the Essex County State Police in Essex County; a report taken on a state highway by it comes from that agency's own records office.
The FBI's agency list also places six campus police departments and one state agency in Essex County, each with a records office of its own.
Reports from the Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at essexsheriffma.org (page title: Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Essex County
The 11 cities the FBI lists in Essex County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Lynn: 582 violent and 1,152 property crimes reported for 2025; 2,380 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lawrence: 322 violent and 802 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,354 arrests reported for 2025. The Lawrence police records page is at lawpd.com/425/Records-Division (verified September 25, 2026).
- Haverhill: 225 violent and 460 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,318 arrests reported for 2025.
- Peabody: 162 violent and 348 property crimes reported for 2025; 866 arrests reported for 2025. The Peabody police records page is at peabodypd.org/recordsdivision, phone 978-538-6345 (verified September 25, 2026).
- Methuen: 582 arrests reported for 2024.
- Salem: 32 violent and 588 property crimes reported for 2025; 582 arrests reported for 2025.
- Beverly: 84 violent and 214 property crimes reported for 2025; 361 arrests reported for 2025.
- Gloucester: 69 violent and 166 property crimes reported for 2025; 586 arrests reported for 2025. The Gloucester police department's page is at gloucester-ma.gov/1606/Police-Department (verified September 25, 2026).
- Newburyport: 14 violent and 28 property crimes reported for 2025; 71 arrests reported for 2025.
- Newburyport: 14 violent and 90 property crimes reported for 2025; 204 arrests reported for 2025.
- Amesbury: 16 violent and 96 property crimes reported for 2025; 277 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 Reports: Essex County in 2025
The 33 agencies in Essex County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,792 violent and 5,719 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the 32 agencies in Essex County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,140 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Massachusetts Public Records Law Requires
The Massachusetts Public Records Law sets the rules: an answer within 10 business days, at a charge of staff time after the first four hours for towns and two for the state, plus copying, from the agency that holds the report.
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Essex County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Massachusetts Public Records Law the answer is due within 10 business days.
How long does an agency in Essex County have to answer?
Under the Massachusetts Public Records Law, within 10 business days. It may charge staff time after the first four hours for towns and two for the state, plus copying.
Who has a crash report from a state highway in Essex County?
The state agency whose officer took it; the FBI lists the Essex County State Police in Essex County.
How do I get a report from the Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA?
From its records unit. Under the Massachusetts Public Records Law the answer is due within 10 business days.
Is this the official Essex 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.