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 25, 2026.
Princeton, New Jersey, in Mercer County, has about 31,000 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 Princeton 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Princeton public records, Mercer County criminal records, Princeton arrest records, Princeton warrants, Princeton court records, Princeton police reports, New Jersey arrest records and New Jersey inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County
In New Jersey the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Princeton are heard by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer 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 Mercer County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at njcourts.gov/courts/vicinages/mercer/offices (page title: Mercer Court Offices/Divisions | NJ Courts), phone 609-571-4200, 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
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 file in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County is the public record.
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 Princeton
The Mercer County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Princeton (filed by the FBI as Princeton Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around Princeton: 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 two campus police departments, one state agency, one other agency and one state police unit in Mercer County (the arrest records guide names each one); each keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the 11 agencies in Mercer County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,190 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 Princeton arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Princeton in 2025
The agency that reports for Princeton had 13 violent and 177 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 Mercer County
The County Prosecutor decides which arrests in Mercer County become charges and files them in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County; the office answers questions about pending prosecutions, and the case files themselves are court records.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at mercercounty.org/departments/emergency-management-public-safety/pro... (page title: Prosecutor's Office | Mercer County, NJ), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Princeton
Registered sex offenders living in Princeton 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 Mercer 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Princeton?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer 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 Princeton criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at njcourts.gov/courts/vicinages/mercer/offices (page title: Mercer Court Offices/Divisions | NJ Courts). 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 Princeton?
The County Prosecutor, which files its cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County.
Is this the official Princeton 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.