Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Clifton, New Jersey, in Passaic County, has about 90,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In New Jersey the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Superior Court Clerk and the County Clerk; the statewide criminal history kept by the New Jersey State Police is released only to its subject and to the employers and agencies the law allows. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Clifton is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the crimes behind the records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests, directory links and common questions.
Related guides: Clifton public records, Passaic County criminal records, Clifton arrest records, Clifton warrants, Clifton inmate search, Clifton court records, New Jersey arrest records and New Jersey inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Passaic County
In New Jersey the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Clifton are heard by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Passaic County, which hears every civil, criminal, family and probate case, and the file of each case is kept by the Superior Court Clerk and the County Clerk.
For Passaic County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at records.passaiccountynj.org/press/Clerk/ClerkHome.aspx?op=basic (page title: Public Records Electronic Search System (PRESS)), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, New Jersey Courts Public Access is the Judiciary's free online case search for civil and criminal cases.
The New Jersey Criminal History and Your Own Copy
The statewide criminal history kept by the New Jersey State Police is closed to the public in New Jersey: it is released to its subject and to authorized employers and licensing agencies, and a member of the public uses the court's own case index instead.
To see your own record, the route is a fingerprint-based request to the State Police. The state page SearchSystems verified for it is at njsp.njoag.gov/criminal-history-records.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Clifton
The Passaic County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Clifton (filed by the FBI as Clifton Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around Clifton: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Passaic County: William Paterson University (campus police); Prosecutor in Passaic County (other agency); the Passaic County State Police (state police); each keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the 17 agencies in Passaic County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 7,540 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Clifton arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Clifton in 2025
The agency that reports for Clifton had 150 violent and 1,766 property crimes reported for 2025; each one is a report on file with it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The County Prosecutor for Passaic County
Charges in Passaic County are filed by the County Prosecutor, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Passaic County.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at njoag.gov/passaic-county-prosecutor-assumes-oversight-of-paterson-p... (page title: Passaic County Prosecutor Assumes Oversight of Paterson Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division | New Je), phone 609-292-4791, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Clifton
Registered sex offenders living in Clifton are listed on the New Jersey Sex Offender Internet Registry, run by the New Jersey State Police at njsp.njoag.gov/nj-sex-offender-registry. Tier 2 and Tier 3 offenders are listed online, unless a court excludes them.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Passaic County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Open Public Records Act a county office must answer a request within 7 business days, and it may charge copying at 5 cents a page for letter size.
More Official Criminal Records Pages for Passaic County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Passaic County and New Jersey. These criminal records pages from its Passaic County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- Most Wanted (pcsheriff.org)
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Clifton?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Passaic 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.
Can I search Clifton criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at records.passaiccountynj.org (page title: Public Records Electronic Search System (PRESS)). Statewide, New Jersey Courts Public Access is the Judiciary's free online case search for civil and criminal cases.
How do I get my own New Jersey criminal history?
Through a fingerprint-based request to the State Police.
Who prosecutes crimes in Clifton?
The County Prosecutor, reached at 609-292-4791, which files its cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Passaic County.
Is this the official Clifton 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.