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. 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 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Worcester County, Massachusetts, has about 881,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by 60 city agencies and 11 campus, state or other agencies. 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 Worcester County 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: Worcester County public records, Massachusetts arrest records, Massachusetts inmate search and Massachusetts criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Worcester County
The About - Worcester County Sheriff's Office is the county law enforcement agency of Worcester County.
Arrests inside five 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:
- Worcester, 211,286 residents: 2,593 arrests reported for 2025.
- Leominster, 44,209 residents: 497 arrests reported for 2025.
- Fitchburg, 42,145 residents: 601 arrests reported for 2025.
- Gardner, 21,381 residents: 317 arrests reported for 2025.
- Southbridge Town, 18,106 residents: 698 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.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Worcester County: Clark University, the University of Massachusetts at Medical Center, Worcester, Fitchburg State University, Worcester State University and five more (campus police); the Worcester County Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (state agency); the Worcester County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Worcester 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.
- Worcester: 2,593 for 2025, 2,560 for 2024, 2,165 for 2023, 1,973 for 2022, 1,909 for 2021 and 2,045 for 2020.
- Petersham: 1,188 for 2025, 1,188 for 2024, 1,188 for 2023, 1,188 for 2022, 1,188 for 2021 and 1,188 for 2020.
- Southbridge Town: 698 for 2025, 766 for 2023, 676 for 2022, 770 for 2021, 800 for 2020 and 861 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Fitchburg: 601 for 2025, 471 for 2024, 382 for 2023, 395 for 2022, 391 for 2021 and 395 for 2020.
- Milford: 592 for 2025, 684 for 2024, 605 for 2023, 611 for 2022, 448 for 2021 and 340 for 2020.
- Webster: 529 for 2025, 586 for 2024, 759 for 2023, 696 for 2022, 762 for 2021 and 761 for 2020.
- Leominster: 497 for 2025, 555 for 2024, 425 for 2023, 454 for 2022, 496 for 2021 and 630 for 2020.
- Sturbridge: 448 for 2025, 448 for 2024, 443 for 2023, 483 for 2022 and 513 for 2019; 2020 and 2021 are missing months.
- Auburn: 438 for 2025, 326 for 2024, 275 for 2023, 263 for 2022, 325 for 2021 and 413 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Northborough: 394 for 2025, 427 for 2024, 388 for 2023, 271 for 2022, 232 for 2021 and 179 for 2020.
- Gardner: 317 for 2025, 310 for 2024, 329 for 2023, 358 for 2022, 405 for 2021 and 441 for 2020.
- Northbridge: 278 for 2025, 325 for 2024, 430 for 2023, 391 for 2022, 355 for 2021 and 353 for 2020.
Together, the 59 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 13,481 arrests that year. The 54 of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 12,378 in 2025 against 12,292 in 2024, up 0.7 percent.
Boylston reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Worcester County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Worcester County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 690 people, down from about 860 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,250 beds, and it ran at 54 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 About - Worcester County Sheriff's Office at worcestercountysheriff.com/about (page title: About | Worcester County Sheriff's Office), phone 508.854.1800, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Massachusetts Department of Correction lists its inmates at mass.gov/how-to/find-someone-housed-in-a-massachusetts-prison.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Worcester County
An arrest in Worcester County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Worcester County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at mass.gov/locations/worcester-district-court, phone (508) 831-2010); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at worcesterda.com/contact, phone (508) 755-8601).
Statewide, masscourts.org is the Massachusetts Trial Court's free online case search.
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. 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 Worcester 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 Massachusetts Public Records Law the agency must answer within 10 business days, and it may charge staff time after the first four hours for towns and two for the state, plus copying.
- An arrest by the About - Worcester County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 508.854.1800.
- An arrest in Worcester, Leominster, Fitchburg, Gardner or Southbridge Town: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Clark University, the University of Massachusetts at Medical Center, Worcester or Fitchburg State University: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (508) 755-8601, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Worcester County Superior Court, through the court records page at mass.gov/locations/worcester-district-court, phone (508) 831-2010.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at worcesterma.gov/public-records-requests (page title: Public Records Requests | City of Worcester).
- Your own statewide record: a personal CORI request, free once a year online.
Cities in Worcester County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the five cities in Worcester County: Worcester, Leominster, Fitchburg, Gardner and Southbridge Town. The FBI's list also carries the Ashburnham Police Department, the Athol Police Department, the Auburn Police Department and 52 more as city agencies in Worcester County; Ashburnham, Athol, Auburn and 52 more are not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Worcester County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Worcester County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Leominster (44,209)
- Fitchburg (42,145)
- Gardner (21,381)
- Southbridge Town (18,106)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Worcester County each year?
Worcester reported 2,593 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 59 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 13,481 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Worcester County?
Ask the About - Worcester County Sheriff's Office at 508.854.1800; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at worcestercountysheriff.com/about.
Where are people arrested in Worcester County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the About - Worcester County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Worcester County?
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.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Worcester County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the About - Worcester County Sheriff's Office 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at worcesterma.gov/public-records-requests.
Is this the official Worcester 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.