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 9, 2026.
Hertford County, North Carolina, has about 19,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Hertford 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 Hertford 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: Hertford County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Hertford County
The Hertford County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Hertford County. It reported 357 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:
- Ahoskie, 4,665 residents: 286 arrests reported for 2025.
- Murfreesboro, 2,277 residents: 72 arrests reported for 2025.
- Winton, 597 residents: 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 Arrests Each Agency Reports in Hertford 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.
- Winton: 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.
- Hertford County Sheriff's Office: 357 for 2025, 368 for 2024, 399 for 2023, 382 for 2022, 469 for 2021 and 482 for 2020.
- Ahoskie: 286 for 2025, 387 for 2024, 396 for 2023, 404 for 2022, 369 for 2021 and 397 for 2020.
- Murfreesboro: 72 for 2025, 88 for 2024, 83 for 2023, 63 for 2022, 90 for 2021 and 69 for 2020.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,868 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,868 in 2025 against 2,006 in 2024, down 6.9 percent.
Through July 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,008 arrests, against 1,074 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hertford County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Hertford 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 40 people, down from about 84 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 72 beds, and it ran at 117 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 Hertford County Sheriff's Office at hertfordcountync.gov/departments/public_safety/sheriffs_office/dete... (page title: Hertford County, NC), phone (252) 358-7840, Thursday and Sunday from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Hertford County
For Hertford County the place to look is the case index of the Hertford 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/hertford-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 Hertford 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 Hertford County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (252) 358-7840.
- An arrest in Ahoskie, Murfreesboro or Winton: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Hertford County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/hertford-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at sosnc.gov (page title: Requesting Records From Us).
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
The other Hertford County guides go further: warrants, inmate search, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, DUI, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Hertford County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the six cities in Hertford County: Ahoskie, Murfreesboro and Winton. Cofield, Harrellsville and Como 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 Hertford County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Hertford County each year?
Winton reported 1,153 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,868 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Hertford County?
Ask the Hertford County Sheriff's Office at (252) 358-7840; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hertfordcountync.gov.
Where are people arrested in Hertford County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Hertford County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Hertford County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Hertford 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 Hertford County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hertford 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 sosnc.gov.
Is this the official Hertford 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.