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 October 4, 2026.
Union County, New Jersey, has about 594,000 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 Union 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, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Union County public records, Union County arrest records, Union County warrants, Union County inmate search, Union County court records, New Jersey arrest records and New Jersey inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County
In New Jersey the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Union County are heard by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union 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 njcourts.gov/public/find-a-case (page title: Find a Case), 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
The statewide criminal history kept by the New Jersey State Police is closed to the public in New Jersey: it is released to its subject and to authorized employers and licensing agencies, and a member of the public uses the court's own case index instead.
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 Union County
The Union County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Elizabeth, Plainfield, Linden, Westfield, Rahway, Summit and seven more cities keep the arrest records in Union 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 one campus police department, two other agencies and one state police unit in Union County (the arrest records guide names each one); each keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the 20 agencies in Union County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,391 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 Union County arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Union County in 2025
The 21 agencies in Union County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 820 violent and 7,552 property crimes to the FBI that year; the 20 of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 7,308 crimes in 2025 against 8,454 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 Union County public records guide.
The Sex Offender Registry for Union County
Registered sex offenders living in Union 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 Union 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 Union County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union 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 Union County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at njcourts.gov/public/find-a-case (page title: Find a Case). 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.
Is this the official Union 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.