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 September 30, 2026.
Clifton, New Jersey, in Passaic County, has about 90,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clifton is held at the county jail, run by the Passaic County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Clifton public records, Passaic County inmate search, Clifton arrest records, Clifton warrants, Clifton criminal records, Clifton court records, New Jersey arrest records and New Jersey inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Clifton
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clifton is held at the county jail, run by the Passaic County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Passaic County Sheriff's Office at pcsheriff.org/corrections/inmate_search/index.php (page title: Passaic County Sheriff), phone 973-881-4200, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Passaic County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2020 the jail held about 560 people, down from about 620 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 940 beds, and it ran at 65 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Passaic County has about 527,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Passaic County Jail
The Passaic County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Clifton (filed by the FBI as Clifton Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Clifton.
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).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Paterson's 2,251 for 2025, Passaic's 1,330 for 2025 and the Passaic County Sheriff's Office's 1,005 for 2025.
Together, the 17 agencies in Passaic County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 7,540 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Clifton arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Passaic County 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Clifton?
Look on the custody page of the Passaic County Sheriff's Office at pcsheriff.org, or call 973-881-4200. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Passaic County jail?
About 560 on an average day in 2020, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 940 beds.
What is the phone number for the Passaic County jail?
973-881-4200, the number on the page of the Passaic County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Passaic County go?
To a facility of the New Jersey Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at www20.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/inmatefinder?i=I.
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.