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 28, 2026.
Cape May County, New Jersey, has about 94,000 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 Cape May County 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: Cape May County public records, Cape May County arrest records, Cape May County warrants, Cape May County inmate search, Cape May County court records, New Jersey arrest records and New Jersey inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Cape May County
In New Jersey the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Cape May County are heard by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Cape May 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.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at capemaycountynj.gov/189/County-Clerk (page title: County Clerk | Cape May County, NJ), phone 609-465-1023, 5000 Cape May Court House, NJ 08210-5000, Mon. - Fri. 9am - 4pm, 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, Cape May 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 Cape May County
The Cape May County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Ocean City, Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Cape May, Sea Isle City and five more cities keep the arrest records in Cape May County: 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 Cape May County: Prosecutor in Cape May County (other agency); the Cape May County State Police (state police); each keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the 12 agencies in Cape May County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,061 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 Cape May County arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Cape May County in 2025
The 12 agencies in Cape May County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 138 violent and 1,201 property crimes to the FBI that year; the ten of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,108 crimes in 2025 against 1,401 in 2024. Each reported crime is a report on file with the agency that took it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The full crime section, agency by agency, is on the Cape May County public records guide.
The County Prosecutor for Cape May County
Charges in Cape May 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, Cape May County.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at capemaycountynj.gov/m/directory/department?did=60 (page title: Staff Directory, Prosecutor's Office), phone 609-465-1135, 110 Cape May Court House, NJ 08210, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Cape May County
Registered sex offenders living in Cape May County 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 Cape May 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 Cape May County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Cape May 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 Cape May County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at capemaycountynj.gov/189/County-Clerk (page title: County Clerk | Cape May County, NJ). 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 Cape May County?
The County Prosecutor, reached at 609-465-1135, which files its cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Cape May County.
Is this the official Cape May County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.