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 25, 2026.
New Bern, North Carolina, in Craven County, has about 34,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in New Bern is held at the county jail, run by the Craven 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: New Bern public records, Craven County inmate search, New Bern arrest records, New Bern warrants, New Bern criminal records, New Bern court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in New Bern
A person kept in custody after an arrest in New Bern is held at the county jail, run by the Craven County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Craven County Sheriff's Office at gis.cravencountync.gov/images/activebookings.html (page title: Active Bookings), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Craven County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 290 people, up from about 290 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 292 beds, and it ran at 102 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Craven County has about 104,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 28 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Craven County Jail
The Craven County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for New Bern (filed by the FBI as New Bern Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around New Bern.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Vanceboro's 1,153 for 2025, Bridgeton's 1,153 for 2025 and River Bend's 1,153 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Craven County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,444 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 New Bern 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 Craven 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 New Bern?
Look on the custody page of the Craven County Sheriff's Office at gis.cravencountync.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Craven County jail?
About 290 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 292 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Craven 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 New Bern 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.