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 October 2, 2026.
Caldwell County, North Carolina, has about 81,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office and three city 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 Caldwell 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: Caldwell County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Caldwell County
The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Caldwell County. It reported 953 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Caldwell County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Lenoir, 18,280 residents: 642 arrests reported for 2025.
- Granite Falls, 4,942 residents: 263 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hudson, 3,771 residents: 156 arrests reported for 2025.
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 Rhodhiss Police Department, the Blowing Rock Police Department and the Hickory Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Caldwell County, so their arrests are not broken out for Caldwell County here.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Caldwell 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.
- Caldwell County Sheriff's Office: 953 for 2025, 1,438 for 2024, 1,425 for 2023, 1,642 for 2022, 1,476 for 2021 and 1,546 for 2020.
- Lenoir: 642 for 2025, 579 for 2024, 1,044 for 2023, 1,272 for 2022, 1,301 for 2021 and 1,248 for 2020.
- Granite Falls: 263 for 2025, 275 for 2024, 310 for 2023, 277 for 2022, 288 for 2021 and 281 for 2020.
- Hudson: 156 for 2025, 208 for 2024, 189 for 2023, 203 for 2022, 340 for 2021 and 316 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,014 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,014 in 2025 against 2,500 in 2024, down 19 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,353 arrests, against 1,265 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Caldwell County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Caldwell County 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 170 people, down from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 185 beds, and it ran at 111 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 Caldwell County Sheriff's Office at caldwellcountync.org/280/Detention (page title: Detention | Caldwell County, NC), phone 828-759-3502, 224 S Dawson Street Raleigh, NC 27601, Monday through Friday from 8 am until 7 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 2, 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 Caldwell County
For Caldwell County the place to look is the case index of the Caldwell 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/caldwell-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 Caldwell 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 Caldwell County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 828-759-3502.
- An arrest in Lenoir, Granite Falls or Hudson: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Caldwell County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/caldwell-county.
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Caldwell County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the seven cities in Caldwell County: Lenoir, Granite Falls and Hudson. Sawmills, Gamewell, Cajah's Mountain and Cedar Rock 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 Caldwell County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Caldwell County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Lenoir (18,280)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Caldwell County each year?
The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office reported 953 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,014 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Caldwell County?
Ask the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office at 828-759-3502; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at caldwellcountync.org/280/Detention.
Where are people arrested in Caldwell County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Caldwell County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Caldwell 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 Caldwell County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Caldwell 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 Caldwell 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.