Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 26, 2026.
Clayton, New Jersey, in Gloucester County, has about 9,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the County Prosecutor files charges, a case in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Gloucester County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Clayton public records, Gloucester County arrest records, New Jersey arrest records and New Jersey inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Clayton
The FBI lists Clayton with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Clayton Police Department. It reported 162 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 607 arrests for 2020.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Gloucester County: Rowan University (campus police); Prosecutor in Gloucester County (other); the Gloucester County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Clayton Reports
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.
- Clayton: 162 for 2025, 188 for 2024, 195 for 2023, 139 for 2022, 158 for 2020 and 226 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Clayton's 162 arrests in 2025 were down 14 percent from 188 in 2024.
Through September 2026, Clayton reported 75 arrests, against 137 in the same months of 2025.
Across Gloucester County, the 20 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,246 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Clayton Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clayton 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 2020 the jail held about 160 people. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at www20.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/inmatefinder?i=I.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Clayton
An arrest in Clayton can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Gloucester County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at nj.gov/state/archives/catcglclerk.html); the County Prosecutor, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at gloucestercountynj.gov/m/directory/department?did=69, phone 856-384-5500).
Statewide, New Jersey Courts Public Access is the Judiciary's free online case search for civil and criminal cases.
New Jersey does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the New Jersey State Police 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 Clayton
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 Open Public Records Act the agency must answer within 7 business days, and it may charge copying at 5 cents a page for letter size.
- An arrest by the Clayton police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at claytonnj.com/DocumentCenter/View/3782/Police-OPRA-Request-Form-PDF (page title: Clayton Police Department OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST FORM), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Prosecutor, 856-384-5500, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Superior Court of New Jersey, Gloucester County, through the court records page at nj.gov/state/archives/catcglclerk.html.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at gloucestercountynj.gov (page title: OPRA REQUEST INFORMATION | Gloucester County, NJ).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police.
The Gloucester County guide covers every agency in the county: Gloucester County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Clayton each year?
Clayton reported 162 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Clayton booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Clayton?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Gloucester County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the New Jersey State Police is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Open Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Clayton?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Clayton police for its own arrests, the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Open Public Records Act the answer is due within 7 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at gloucestercountynj.gov.
Is this the official Clayton website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.