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 2024. 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 25, 2026.
Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in Middlesex County, has about 57,000 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, Middlesex 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: Perth Amboy public records, Middlesex County arrest records, New Jersey arrest records and New Jersey inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Perth Amboy
The FBI lists Perth Amboy with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Perth Amboy Police Department. It reported 1,548 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year. 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 Middlesex County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 706 arrests for 2023.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Middlesex County: Middlesex County College and Rutgers University at New Brunswick (campus police); Prosecutor in Middlesex County (other); the Middlesex County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Perth Amboy 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.
- Perth Amboy: 1,548 for 2024, 1,773 for 2023, 1,615 for 2022, 1,905 for 2020 and 1,981 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Perth Amboy's 1,548 arrests in 2024 were down 13 percent from 1,773 in 2023.
Across Middlesex County, the 21 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 7,840 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Perth Amboy Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Perth Amboy 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 2023 the jail held about 560 people, up from about 530 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 1,436 beds, and it ran at 39 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office at middlesexcountynj.gov/government/departments/department-of-public-s... (page title: Inmate Lookup | Middlesex County NJ), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the New Jersey Department of Corrections lists its inmates at www20.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/inmatefinder?i=I.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Perth Amboy
An arrest in Perth Amboy can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; New Jersey Courts Public Access, the Judiciary's free online case search for civil and criminal cases, which shows whether charges were filed; the County Prosecutor, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at middlesexcountynj.gov/government/departments/department-of-public-s...).
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 Perth Amboy
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Perth Amboy police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at perthamboynj.org/government/departments/police_department/records_a... (page title: Records and Services | City of Perth Amboy), phone 732-324-3840, 365 New Brunswick Avenue Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, Monday - Thursday: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Prosecutor handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at middlesexcountynj.gov (page title: Request for Open Public Records Act (OPRA) Documents | Middlesex County NJ).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police.
The Middlesex County guide covers every agency in the county: Middlesex County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Perth Amboy each year?
Perth Amboy reported 1,548 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Perth Amboy?
Look on the custody page of the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office at middlesexcountynj.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Perth Amboy booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Perth Amboy?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex 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 Perth Amboy?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Perth Amboy police for its own arrests, the Middlesex 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 middlesexcountynj.gov.
Is this the official Perth Amboy 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.