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 1, 2026.
Cleveland County, North Carolina, has about 102,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and one state agency. 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 Cleveland 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: Cleveland County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Cleveland County
The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Cleveland County. It reported 1,858 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Shelby, 22,778 residents: 1,216 arrests reported for 2025.
- Kings Mountain, 11,797 residents: 260 arrests reported for 2025.
- Boiling Springs, 4,759 residents: 37 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 FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Cleveland County: the State Park Rangers at Crowders Mountain (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Cleveland 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.
- Cleveland County Sheriff's Office: 1,858 for 2025, 2,270 for 2024, 1,897 for 2023, 1,947 for 2022, 1,729 for 2021 and 1,587 for 2020.
- Shelby: 1,216 for 2025, 1,222 for 2024, 1,183 for 2023, 1,223 for 2022 and 1,302 for 2021.
- Kings Mountain: 260 for 2025, 273 for 2024, 202 for 2023, 211 for 2022, 283 for 2021 and 197 for 2020.
- Boiling Springs: 37 for 2025, 15 for 2024, 16 for 2023, 27 for 2022 and 33 for 2021.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,371 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,371 in 2025 against 3,780 in 2024, down 11 percent.
Through June 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,322 arrests, against 1,740 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Cleveland County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cleveland 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 290 people, down from about 330 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office at 74.218.167.200/p2c/jailinmates.aspx (page title: Cleveland County Sheriff Office P2C), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 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 Cleveland County
For Cleveland County the place to look is the case index of the Cleveland 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/cleveland-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 Cleveland County
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 Cleveland County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Shelby, Kings Mountain or Boiling Springs: 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 Crowders Mountain: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Cleveland County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/cleveland-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at clevelandcounty.com (page title: Cleveland County, NC).
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Cleveland County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the 15 cities in Cleveland County: Shelby, Kings Mountain and Boiling Springs. Belwood, Grover, Kingstown, Fallston, Patterson Springs, Lawndale, Polkville, Lattimore, Waco, Casar, Mooresboro and Earl 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 Cleveland County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Cleveland County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Kings Mountain (11,797)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Cleveland County each year?
The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office reported 1,858 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,371 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Cleveland County?
Ask the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at 74.218.167.200/p2c/jailinmates.aspx.
Where are people arrested in Cleveland County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Cleveland County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Cleveland 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 Cleveland County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Cleveland 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at clevelandcounty.com.
Is this the official Cleveland 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.