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 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, in Bernalillo County, has about 560,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In New Mexico the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Clerk of the District Court; the statewide criminal history kept by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety 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 Albuquerque 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: Albuquerque public records, Bernalillo County criminal records, Albuquerque arrest records, Albuquerque warrants, Albuquerque inmate search, Albuquerque court records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the District Court for Bernalillo County
In New Mexico the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Albuquerque are heard by the District Court for Bernalillo County, which hears felonies, civil cases, divorces, probate and juvenile matters; the Magistrate Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $10,000; Bernalillo County has the Metropolitan Court instead, and the file of each case is kept by the Clerk of the District Court.
For Bernalillo County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at metro.nmcourts.gov/public-records (page title: Public Records | Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court), phone (505) 841-8151, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Statewide, New Mexico Courts Case Lookup is the New Mexico Judiciary's free statewide case search.
The New Mexico Criminal History and Your Own Copy
The statewide criminal history kept by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety is closed to the public in New Mexico: 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 Department of Public Safety. The state page SearchSystems verified for it is at dps.nm.gov/law-enforcement-records-bureau.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Albuquerque
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Albuquerque (filed by the FBI as Albuquerque Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around Albuquerque: 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 Bernalillo County: the University of New Mexico's Main Campus (campus police); Albuquerque Fire and Rescue (other agency); each keeps the records of its own arrests.
The Rio Rancho Police Department and the Edgewood Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Bernalillo County, so their arrests are not broken out for Bernalillo County here.
Together, the two agencies in Bernalillo County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 22,003 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 Albuquerque arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Albuquerque in 2025
The agency that reports for Albuquerque had 5,724 violent and 22,613 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 District Attorney for Bernalillo County
Charges in Bernalillo County are filed by the District Attorney, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the District Court for Bernalillo County or the Magistrate Court.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at nmdas.com/judicial-districts/second-judicial-district (page title: SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT | New Mexico Administrative Office of the District Attorneys), phone (505) 222-1100, 1100 Juvenile Division Mailing and Street Address: 5100 Second St. NW Albuquerque, NM 87102, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Albuquerque
Registered sex offenders living in Albuquerque are listed on the New Mexico Sex Offender Registry, run by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety at offenderwatch.com/network/new-mexico. The registry is public and can be searched online; the county sheriff registers 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 Bernalillo 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 Inspection of Public Records Act a county office must answer a request within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days, and it may charge copying at no more than $1 a page. The county records request page SearchSystems verified is at metro.nmcourts.gov/self-representation/resources/public-records-req... (page title: Public Records Request | Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Albuquerque?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Bernalillo County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Inspection of Public Records Act.
Can I search Albuquerque criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at metro.nmcourts.gov/public-records (page title: Public Records | Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court). Statewide, New Mexico Courts Case Lookup is the New Mexico Judiciary's free statewide case search.
How do I get my own New Mexico criminal history?
Through a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Who prosecutes crimes in Albuquerque?
The District Attorney, reached at (505) 222-1100, which files its cases in the District Court for Bernalillo County or the Magistrate Court.
Is this the official Albuquerque 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.