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 4, 2026.
Franklin County, North Carolina, has about 80,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and five 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 Franklin 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: Franklin County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Franklin County
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Franklin County. It reported 676 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Franklin County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Louisburg, 3,423 residents: 326 arrests reported for 2025.
- Franklinton, 2,825 residents: 103 arrests reported for 2024.
- Youngsville, 2,375 residents: 53 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bunn, 374 residents: 2 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 Wake Forest Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Franklin County, so its arrests are not broken out for Franklin County here.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Franklin County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Lake Royale: 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.
- Franklin County Sheriff's Office: 676 for 2025, 708 for 2024, 851 for 2023, 710 for 2022, 762 for 2021 and 914 for 2020.
- Louisburg: 326 for 2025, 362 for 2024, 284 for 2023, 233 for 2022, 193 for 2021 and 237 for 2020.
- Youngsville: 53 for 2025, 46 for 2024, 44 for 2023, 28 for 2022, 26 for 2021 and 50 for 2020.
- Franklinton: 103 for 2024, 103 for 2023, 128 for 2022, 151 for 2021, 97 for 2020 and 158 for 2019.
- Bunn: 2 for 2024, 10 for 2023, 10 for 2022, 19 for 2021, 10 for 2020 and 11 for 2019.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,208 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,208 in 2025 against 2,279 in 2024, down 3.1 percent.
Through July 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,280 arrests, against 1,253 in the same months of 2025.
Franklinton and Bunn reported only part of 2025 (1 month and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Franklin County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Franklin 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 170 people, up from about 170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 172 beds, and it ran at 98 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 Franklin County Sheriff's Office at fcsonc.org/detention-complex (page title: Franklin County Sheriff's Office), phone (919) 496-2186, 285 T Kemp Road Louisburg, NC 27549, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Franklin County
For Franklin County the place to look is the case index of the Franklin 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/franklin-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 Franklin 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 Franklin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (919) 496-2186.
- An arrest in Louisburg, Franklinton, Youngsville or Bunn: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Franklin County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/franklin-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountync.gov (page title: Public Records Request | Franklin County, NC).
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Franklin County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Franklin County: Louisburg, Franklinton, Youngsville and Bunn. The FBI's list also carries the Lake Royale Police Department as a city agency in Franklin County; Lake Royale is not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Franklin County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Franklin County each year?
Lake Royale reported 1,153 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,208 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Franklin County?
Ask the Franklin County Sheriff's Office at (919) 496-2186; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at fcsonc.org/detention-complex.
Where are people arrested in Franklin County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Franklin County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Franklin 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 Franklin County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Franklin 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 franklincountync.gov.
Is this the official Franklin 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.