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 on September 23, 2026.
Salem County, New Jersey, has about 66,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Salem County Sheriff's Office, eight city agencies and two campus, state or other agencies. An arrest 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, Salem County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Salem County public records, New Jersey arrest records, New Jersey inmate search and New Jersey criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Salem County
The Salem County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Salem County. It reported 150 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Salem, 5,369 residents: 206 arrests reported for 2025.
- Penns Grove, 4,921 residents: 88 arrests reported for 2024.
- Woodstown, 3,757 residents: 32 arrests reported for 2025.
- Elmer, 1,377 residents: 5 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Salem County: Prosecutor in Salem County (other); the Salem County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Salem County
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.
- Pennsville Township: 268 for 2025, 276 for 2024, 377 for 2023, 365 for 2022, 383 for 2021 and 483 for 2020.
- Salem: 206 for 2025, 267 for 2024, 264 for 2023, 215 for 2022, 174 for 2021 and 412 for 2020.
- Salem County Sheriff's Office: 150 for 2025, 85 for 2024, 88 for 2023, 111 for 2022, 197 for 2020 and 493 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Carney's Point Township: 131 for 2025, 106 for 2024, 118 for 2023, 99 for 2022, 157 for 2021 and 381 for 2020.
- Woodstown: 32 for 2025, 20 for 2024, 31 for 2023, 19 for 2022, 26 for 2021 and 42 for 2020.
- Lower Alloways Creek Township: 19 for 2025, 12 for 2024, 22 for 2020 and 44 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Elmer: 5 for 2025, 6 for 2024, 19 for 2020 and 10 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Penns Grove: 88 for 2024, 156 for 2023, 135 for 2022, 346 for 2020 and 354 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Elsinboro Township: 7 for 2020 and 16 for 2019.
Together, the seven agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 811 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 811 in 2025 against 772 in 2024, up 5.1 percent.
Elsinboro Township and Penns Grove reported only part of 2025 (1 month and 9 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Salem County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Salem County 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 360 people, up from about 300 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 416 beds, and it ran at 86 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Salem County Sheriff's Office at salemcountysheriff.com/corrections (page title: Corrections Home | Salem County Sheriff's Office), phone (856) 935-7510, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
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 Salem County
For Salem County the place to look is the case index of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Salem County, kept by the Superior Court Clerk and the County Clerk, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at courtrecord.net/salem-county-nj-courts (page title: Salem County Court Records for Free (Salem County, NJ)), phone 856-935-7510, belongs to a lower court, not to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Salem County.
Statewide, New Jersey Courts Public Access is the Judiciary's free online case search for civil and criminal cases.
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 Salem County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 Salem County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (856) 935-7510.
- An arrest in Salem, Penns Grove, Woodstown or Elmer: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Prosecutor in Salem County or the Salem County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Salem County it is kept by the Superior Court Clerk and the County Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at courtrecord.net/salem-county-nj-courts, phone 856-935-7510, is a lower court's.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at salemcountynj.gov/government/opra-2 (page title: OPRA | Government Salem County, NJ).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police.
Cities in Salem County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Salem County: Salem, Penns Grove, Woodstown and Elmer. The FBI's list also carries the Carney's Point Township Police Department, the Elsinboro Township Police Department, the Lower Alloways Creek Township Police Department and one more as city agencies in Salem County; Carney's Point Township, Elsinboro Township, Lower Alloways Creek Township and one more are not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Salem County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Salem County each year?
Pennsville Township reported 268 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the seven agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 811 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Salem County?
Ask the Salem County Sheriff's Office at (856) 935-7510; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at salemcountysheriff.com/corrections.
Where are people arrested in Salem County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Salem County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Salem County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Salem 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 Salem County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Salem County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Open Public Records Act the answer is due within 7 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at salemcountynj.gov/government/opra-2.
Is this the official Salem 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.