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 on September 23, 2026.
Harford County, Maryland, has about 266,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Harford County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and one state agency. 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 State's Attorney files charges, a case in the Circuit Court for Harford County. 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: Harford County public records, Maryland arrest records, Maryland inmate search and Maryland criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Harford County
The Harford County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Harford County. It reported 4,177 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Aberdeen, 18,451 residents: 555 arrests reported for 2025.
- Havre de Grace, 15,222 residents: 246 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bel Air, 10,395 residents: 256 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 one more agency in Harford County: the Harford County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Harford 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.
- Harford County Sheriff's Office: 4,177 for 2025, 4,274 for 2024, 3,794 for 2022, 4,323 for 2020 and 6,362 for 2019; 2021 and 2023 are missing months.
- Aberdeen: 555 for 2025, 551 for 2024, 490 for 2022, 422 for 2020 and 652 for 2019; 2021 and 2023 are missing months.
- Bel Air: 256 for 2025, 162 for 2024, 145 for 2023, 148 for 2022, 128 for 2020 and 189 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Havre de Grace: 246 for 2025, 244 for 2024, 238 for 2023, 243 for 2022, 210 for 2020 and 310 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,234 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 5,234 in 2025 against 5,231 in 2024, up 0.1 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 2,762 arrests, against 2,955 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Harford County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Harford 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 2024 the jail held about 320 people, down from about 360 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2022, the last year with a capacity figure, was 762 beds, and it ran at 45 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Harford County
For Harford County the place to look is the case index of the Circuit Court for Harford County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.state.md.us/clerks/harford/records, phone 410-638-3426).
Statewide, Maryland Judiciary Case Search is the free statewide case search of every Maryland court.
Maryland does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Criminal Justice Information System goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Harford County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Maryland Public Information Act the agency must answer within 30 days, with a denial due within 10 working days, and it may charge staff time after the first two hours, plus copying.
- An arrest by the Harford County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Aberdeen, Havre de Grace or Bel Air: 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 the Harford County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court for Harford County, through the court records page at courts.state.md.us/clerks/harford/records, phone 410-638-3426.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at harfordcountymd.gov (page title: Public Information Request | Harford County, MD).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the CJIS Central Repository.
Cities in Harford County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the three cities in Harford County: Aberdeen, Havre de Grace and Bel Air.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Circuit Court for Harford County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Harford County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Aberdeen (18,451)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Harford County each year?
The Harford County Sheriff's Office reported 4,177 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 5,234 between them.
Where are people arrested in Harford County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Harford County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Harford County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Circuit Court for Harford County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Criminal Justice Information System is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Maryland Public Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Harford County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Harford County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Maryland Public Information Act the answer is due within 30 days, with a denial due within 10 working days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at harfordcountymd.gov.
Is this the official Harford 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.