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.
Beaufort County, North Carolina, has about 45,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and three campus, state or other agencies. 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the Beaufort County Superior Court. 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: Beaufort County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Beaufort County
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Beaufort County. It reported 1,153 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Beaufort County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Washington, 9,738 residents: 615 arrests reported for 2025.
- Belhaven, 1,406 residents: 12 arrests reported for 2025.
- Chocowinity, 748 residents: 4 arrests reported for 2024.
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 these agencies in Beaufort County: the State Park Rangers at Goose Creek (state agency); Beaufort County Community College (campus police); Beaufort County Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Beaufort County
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.
- Beaufort County Sheriff's Office: 1,153 for 2025, 1,163 for 2024, 1,164 for 2023, 1,164 for 2022, 1,164 for 2021 and 1,144 for 2020.
- Washington: 615 for 2025, 548 for 2024, 538 for 2023, 481 for 2022, 659 for 2021 and 621 for 2020.
- Belhaven: 12 for 2025, 17 for 2024, 19 for 2023, 26 for 2022, 15 for 2021 and 11 for 2020.
- Chocowinity: 4 for 2024, 8 for 2023, 25 for 2022, 32 for 2021, 11 for 2020 and 26 for 2019.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,780 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,780 in 2025 against 1,728 in 2024, up 3 percent.
Chocowinity reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Beaufort County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Beaufort County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 52 people, down from about 71 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 85 beds, and it ran at 84 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 Beaufort County Sheriff's Office at beaufortcountysheriff.org/detention-center-services (page title: Use Detention Services | Beaufort County Sheriff's Office), phone (252) 946-7113, 210 N Market St Washington NC 27889, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison 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.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Beaufort County
For Beaufort County the place to look is the case index of the Beaufort 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/beaufort-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 Beaufort County
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 Beaufort County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (252) 946-7113.
- An arrest in Washington, Belhaven or Chocowinity: 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 State Park Rangers at Goose Creek, Beaufort County Community College or Beaufort County Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Beaufort County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/beaufort-county.
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Beaufort County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the seven cities in Beaufort County: Washington, Belhaven and Chocowinity. Aurora, Washington Park, Bath and Pantego have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Beaufort County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Beaufort County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Washington (9,738)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Beaufort County each year?
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office reported 1,153 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,780 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Beaufort County?
Ask the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office at (252) 946-7113; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at beaufortcountysheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Beaufort County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Beaufort County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Beaufort 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 Beaufort County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the answer is due as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days.
Is this the official Beaufort 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.