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 28, 2026.
Bessemer City, North Carolina, in Gaston County, has about 5,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Bessemer City is held at the county jail, run by the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Bessemer City public records, Gaston County inmate search, Bessemer City arrest records, Bessemer City warrants, Bessemer City criminal records, Bessemer City court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Bessemer City
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Bessemer City is held at the county jail, run by the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office at gastongov.com/m/directory/department?did=137 (page title: Staff Directory, Sheriff), phone 704-869-6800, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 704-869-6800.
The Gaston County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 500 people, down from about 660 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 598 beds, and it ran at 82 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Gaston County has about 242,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 20 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Gaston County Jail
The Gaston County Sheriff's Office, the Gaston County Police Department and the agency that reports for Bessemer City (filed by the FBI as Bessemer City Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Bessemer City.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Gaston County: Belmont Abbey College (campus police).
The Kings Mountain Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Gaston County, so its arrests are not broken out for Gaston County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Gastonia's 2,754 for 2025, the Gaston County Police Department's 1,342 for 2024 and Belmont's 382 for 2025.
Together, the ten agencies in Gaston County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,330 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Bessemer City arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Gaston County serves the sentence in a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, whose inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Bessemer City?
Ask the Gaston County Sheriff's Office at 704-869-6800; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at gastongov.com/m/directory/department?did=137.
How many people are in the Gaston County jail?
About 500 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 598 beds.
What is the phone number for the Gaston County jail?
704-869-6800, the number on the page of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Gaston County go?
To a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; its inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov.
Is this the official Bessemer City 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.