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.
Northampton County, North Carolina, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Northampton County Sheriff's Office and six 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 Northampton 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: Northampton County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Northampton County
The Northampton County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Northampton County. It reported 220 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside six 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:
- Gaston, 967 residents: 1,153 arrests reported for 2025.
- Garysburg, 867 residents: 1,153 arrests reported for 2025.
- Rich Square, 849 residents: 1,153 arrests reported for 2025.
- Conway, 708 residents: 1,153 arrests reported for 2025.
- Woodland, 529 residents: 9 arrests reported for 2022.
- Jackson, 413 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 Northampton 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.
- Rich Square: 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.
- Gaston: 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.
- Conway: 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.
- Garysburg: 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.
- Jackson: 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.
- Northampton County Sheriff's Office: 220 for 2025, 228 for 2024, 227 for 2023, 196 for 2022 and 285 for 2021.
- Woodland: 9 for 2022 and 32 for 2020; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the six agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,985 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 5,985 in 2025 against 6,043 in 2024, down 1 percent.
Through September 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 3,590 arrests, against 4,340 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Northampton County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Northampton 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 44 people, down from about 57 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 62 beds, and it ran at 92 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 Northampton County Sheriff's Office at northamptonnc.com/176/Sheriff-Office (page title: Sheriff Office | Northampton County, NC), phone 252-534-3901, 105 W Jefferson Street Jackson, NC 27845, Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Northampton County
For Northampton County the place to look is the case index of the Northampton 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/northampton-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 Northampton 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 Northampton County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 252-534-3901.
- An arrest in Gaston, Garysburg, Rich Square, Conway, Woodland or Jackson: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Northampton County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/northampton-county.
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Northampton County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the nine cities in Northampton County: Gaston, Garysburg, Rich Square, Conway, Woodland and Jackson. Seaboard, Severn and Lasker 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 Northampton County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Northampton County each year?
Rich Square reported 1,153 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the six agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 5,985 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Northampton County?
Ask the Northampton County Sheriff's Office at 252-534-3901; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at northamptonnc.com/176/Sheriff-Office.
Where are people arrested in Northampton County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Northampton County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Northampton County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Northampton 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 Northampton County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Northampton 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.
Is this the official Northampton 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.