Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.
Catawba County, North Carolina, has about 167,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Catawba County depends on where the incident happened: the Catawba County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the North Carolina Public Records Act requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Catawba County public records, Catawba County arrest records, Catawba County warrants, Catawba County inmate search, Catawba County criminal records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Catawba County
A crime, incident or collision report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court, the jail or the prosecutor.
In Catawba County that is the Catawba County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
Reports from the Catawba County Sheriff's Office
The Catawba County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 105 violent and 497 property crimes reported for 2024 and reported 2,097 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its custody page, at injail.catawbacountync.gov/whosinjail (page title: Who's In Jail), 170 Newton District Court Conover Police Department View Alford, Alonzo 6/21/2026 441 2ND ST PL SW HICKORY, NC 28602, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Catawba County
The eight cities the FBI lists in Catawba County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Hickory: 183 violent and 1,272 property crimes reported for 2024; 1,687 arrests reported for 2025. The Hickory police department's page is at hickorync.gov/police-faq, phone 828-328-5551 (verified September 25, 2026).
- Newton: 56 violent and 262 property crimes reported for 2024; 429 arrests reported for 2025. The Newton police records page is at newtonnc.gov/departments/police/records.php, phone 828-465-7430 (verified September 25, 2026).
- Conover: 391 arrests reported for 2022. The Conover police department's page is at conovernc.gov/194/Police-Department, phone 828-464-4698 (verified September 26, 2026).
- Long View: 188 arrests reported for 2022.
- Maiden: 1,153 arrests reported for 2025.
- Claremont: 1,153 arrests reported for 2025.
- Catawba: 52 arrests reported for 2019.
- Brookford: 1,153 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.
How Many Reports: Catawba County in 2024
The three agencies in Catawba County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 344 violent and 2,031 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the six agencies in Catawba County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 7,672 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the North Carolina Public Records Act Requires
Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the agency must answer a request as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Catawba County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Catawba 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.
How long does an agency in Catawba County have to answer?
Under the North Carolina Public Records Act, as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days. It may charge the actual cost of copying.
How do I get a report from the Catawba County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. 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 Catawba 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.