SearchSystems Editorial

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 September 28, 2026.

About this guide

Gaston County, North Carolina, has about 242,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, one other county agency, ten city agencies and one campus 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 Gaston 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: Gaston County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Gaston County

The Gaston County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Gaston County. It reported 122 arrests for 2025.

The Gaston County Police Department also reports arrests to the FBI as another county agency of Gaston County.

Arrests inside ten 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:

  • Gastonia, 85,535 residents: 2,754 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Mount Holly, 18,723 residents: 353 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Belmont, 16,044 residents: 382 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Cherryville, 6,385 residents: 184 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Dallas, 6,270 residents: 279 arrests reported for 2024.
  • Bessemer City, 5,730 residents: 127 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Cramerton, 5,604 residents: 68 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Ranlo, 4,756 residents: 98 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Stanley, 4,147 residents: 164 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Lowell, 3,863 residents: 78 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 Kings Mountain Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Gaston County, so its arrests are not broken out for Gaston County here.

The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Gaston County: Belmont Abbey College (campus police).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Gaston 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.

  • Gastonia: 2,754 for 2025, 2,748 for 2024, 2,891 for 2023, 2,482 for 2022, 2,601 for 2021 and 2,726 for 2020.
  • Belmont: 382 for 2025, 333 for 2024, 418 for 2023, 386 for 2022, 365 for 2021 and 218 for 2020.
  • Mount Holly: 353 for 2025, 415 for 2024, 351 for 2023, 344 for 2022 and 320 for 2021.
  • Cherryville: 184 for 2025, 203 for 2024, 286 for 2023, 231 for 2022, 310 for 2021 and 375 for 2020.
  • Stanley: 164 for 2025, 245 for 2024, 260 for 2023, 153 for 2022, 104 for 2021 and 71 for 2020.
  • Bessemer City: 127 for 2025, 139 for 2024, 176 for 2023, 245 for 2022, 197 for 2021 and 183 for 2020.
  • Gaston County Sheriff's Office: 122 for 2025, 106 for 2024, 135 for 2023, 80 for 2022, 96 for 2021 and 91 for 2020.
  • Ranlo: 98 for 2025, 104 for 2024, 90 for 2022 and 166 for 2021; 2023 is missing months.
  • Lowell: 78 for 2025, 81 for 2024, 184 for 2023, 216 for 2022, 206 for 2021 and 178 for 2020.
  • Cramerton: 68 for 2025, 62 for 2024 and 202 for 2019; 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Gaston County Police Department: 1,342 for 2024, 1,112 for 2023, 1,065 for 2022, 1,137 for 2021 and 1,101 for 2020.
  • Dallas: 279 for 2024, 343 for 2023, 373 for 2022, 514 for 2021, 511 for 2020 and 376 for 2019.

Together, the ten agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,330 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 4,330 in 2025 against 4,436 in 2024, down 2.4 percent.

Through June 2026, the eight agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,800 arrests, against 1,999 in the same months of 2025.

Gaston County Police Department and Dallas reported only part of 2025 (9 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Gaston County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Gaston 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 500 people, down from about 660 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 598 beds, and it ran at 82 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 Gaston County Sheriff's Office at gastongov.com/m/directory/department?did=137 (page title: Staff Directory, Sheriff), phone 704-869-6800, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 Gaston County

Whether someone was arrested in Gaston County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Gaston 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/gaston-county); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at gastongov.com/174/Attorney, phone (704) 852-3113).

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 Gaston 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 Gaston County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 704-869-6800.
  • An arrest in Gastonia, Mount Holly, Belmont, Cherryville, Dallas, Bessemer City or another of the cities listed above: 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 Belmont Abbey College: the records office of the agency involved.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (704) 852-3113, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Gaston County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/gaston-county.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at gastonianc.gov (page title: City of Gastonia | Public Records Requests).
  • Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.

Cities in Gaston County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for ten of the 12 cities in Gaston County: Gastonia, Mount Holly, Belmont, Cherryville, Dallas, Bessemer City, Cramerton, Ranlo, Stanley and Lowell. McAdenville and High Shoals 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 Gaston County Superior Court.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Gaston County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Gaston County each year?

Gastonia reported 2,754 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the ten agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 4,330 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Gaston County?

Ask the Gaston County Sheriff's Office at 704-869-6800; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at gastongov.com/m/directory/department?did=137.

Where are people arrested in Gaston County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Gaston County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Gaston County?

The court files of criminal cases in the Gaston 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 Gaston County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Gaston 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 gastonianc.gov.

Is this the official Gaston 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.