Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 25, 2026.
Charlotte, North Carolina, in Mecklenburg County, has about 943,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city 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 Mecklenburg County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Charlotte public records, Mecklenburg County arrest records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Charlotte
The FBI lists Charlotte with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. It reported 12,564 arrests for 2025. A city is listed 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 Mecklenburg County: Queens University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Davidson College (campus police); the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Law Enforcement Office (other).
How Many Arrests Charlotte Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Charlotte: 12,564 for 2025, 10,942 for 2024, 11,491 for 2023, 14,246 for 2022, 16,260 for 2021 and 17,814 for 2020.
Charlotte's 12,564 arrests in 2025 were up 15 percent from 10,942 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Charlotte reported 8,730 arrests, against 8,306 in the same months of 2025.
Across Mecklenburg County, the seven agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 14,484 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Charlotte Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Charlotte 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 1,280 people, down from about 1,550 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,788 beds, and it ran at 66 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 sheriff's office at mecksheriffweb.mecklenburgcountync.gov/Inmate (page title: MCSO), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction lists its inmates at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Charlotte
Whether someone was arrested in Charlotte, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Mecklenburg County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at nccourts.gov/locations/mecklenburg-county); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at cit.mecknc.gov/resources/Legal-Resources/District-Attorneys-Office, phone 704-686-0700).
Statewide, eCourts Portal is the North Carolina Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
North Carolina does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation 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 Charlotte
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 North Carolina Public Records Act the agency must answer as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Charlotte police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at charlottenc.gov/cmpd/ePolicing-Resources/Records (page title: Records | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department), Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 704-686-0700, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Mecklenburg County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/mecklenburg-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at pi.mecknc.gov (page title: Public Records Requests | Public Information Department).
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
The Mecklenburg County guide covers every agency in the county: Mecklenburg County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Charlotte each year?
Charlotte reported 12,564 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Charlotte?
Ask the sheriff's office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mecksheriffweb.mecklenburgcountync.gov/Inmate.
Where are people arrested in Charlotte booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Charlotte?
The court files of criminal cases in the Mecklenburg County Superior Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the North Carolina Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Charlotte?
From the agency that made the arrest: for most arrests in Mecklenburg County, the Stallings Police Department. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the answer is due as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at pi.mecknc.gov.
Is this the official Charlotte 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.