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 on September 23, 2026.
Sampson County, North Carolina, has about 60,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Sampson County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Sampson 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: Sampson County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Sampson County
The Sampson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Sampson County. It reported 841 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two 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:
- Clinton, 8,317 residents: 570 arrests reported for 2025.
- Newton Grove, 595 residents.
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 Sampson 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.
- Sampson County Sheriff's Office: 841 for 2025, 782 for 2024, 737 for 2023, 737 for 2022, 831 for 2021 and 757 for 2020.
- Clinton: 570 for 2025, 836 for 2024, 953 for 2023, 728 for 2022, 748 for 2021 and 591 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,411 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,411 in 2025 against 1,618 in 2024, down 13 percent.
Through May 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 512 arrests, against 649 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Sampson County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Sampson 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 250 people, up from about 250 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 242 beds, and it ran at 102 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 Sampson County Sheriff's Office at sampsoncountync.gov/Government/Departments-A-Z/Sheriffs-Office/Dete... (page title: Detention Center | Sampson County Government), phone (910) 592-8178, 8178 Location 112 Fontana Street Clinton, NC 28328, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Sampson County
For Sampson County the place to look is the case index of the Sampson 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/sampson-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 Sampson 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 Sampson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (910) 592-8178.
- An arrest in Clinton or Newton Grove: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Sampson County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/sampson-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at sampsoncountync.gov (page title: Public Records Request | Sampson County Government).
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Sampson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the eight cities in Sampson County: Clinton and Newton Grove. Roseboro, Garland, Salemburg, Turkey, Autryville and Harrells 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 Sampson County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Sampson County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Clinton (8,317)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Sampson County each year?
The Sampson County Sheriff's Office reported 841 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,411 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Sampson County?
Ask the Sampson County Sheriff's Office at (910) 592-8178; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sampsoncountync.gov.
Where are people arrested in Sampson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Sampson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Sampson County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Sampson 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 Sampson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Sampson 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 sampsoncountync.gov.
Is this the official Sampson 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.