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 28, 2026.
Knightdale, North Carolina, in Wake County, has about 22,000 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 Wake 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: Knightdale public records, Wake County arrest records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Knightdale
The FBI lists Knightdale with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Knightdale Police Department. It reported 590 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.
Outside the city, the Wake County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 2,251 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Wake County: Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the North Carolina Museum of Art Park Police, North Carolina General Assembly and the WakeMed Campus Police (other); North Carolina State University, Raleigh, Saint Augustine's University and Meredith College (campus police); the State Fairgrounds, the State Park Rangers at Falls Lake Recreation Area, the State Park Rangers at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, the State Park Rangers at William B. Umstead and two more (state agency).
How Many Arrests Knightdale 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.
- Knightdale: 590 for 2025, 655 for 2024, 654 for 2023, 491 for 2022, 447 for 2021 and 316 for 2020.
Knightdale's 590 arrests in 2025 were down 9.9 percent from 655 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Knightdale reported 555 arrests, against 372 in the same months of 2025.
Across Wake County, the 12 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 33,810 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Knightdale Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Knightdale 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 1,460 people, up from about 1,200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,569 beds, and it ran at 90 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 Wake County Sheriff's Office at wakeso.policetocitizen.com/Inmates (page title: Police To Citizen), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 Knightdale
For Knightdale the place to look is the case index of the Wake 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/wake-county).
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 Knightdale
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Knightdale police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at knightdalenc.gov/police/police-reports (page title: Police Reports | Town of Knightdale, NC), phone 919-217-2261, 945 Steeple Square Court, Knightdale, NC 27545, Monday through Friday, 8am - 5pm., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Wake County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Wake County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/wake-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at wake.gov (page title: Public Records Requests | Wake County Government).
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
The Wake County guide covers every agency in the county: Wake County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Knightdale each year?
Knightdale reported 590 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Knightdale?
Ask the Wake County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wakeso.policetocitizen.com/Inmates.
Where are people arrested in Knightdale booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Wake County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Knightdale?
The court files of criminal cases in the Wake 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 Knightdale?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Knightdale police for its own arrests, the Wake County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. 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 wake.gov.
Is this the official Knightdale 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.