Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2024. 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 between September 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Roswell, New Mexico, in Chaves County, has about 47,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the District Court for Chaves County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Roswell public records, Chaves County arrest records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Roswell
The FBI lists Roswell with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Roswell Police Department. It reported 3,241 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Chaves County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 382 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Chaves County: New Mexico Military Institute (campus police).
How Many Arrests Roswell Reports
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.
- Roswell: 3,241 for 2024, 3,484 for 2023, 3,340 for 2022, 2,560 for 2021 and 4,972 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Roswell's 3,241 arrests in 2024 were down 7 percent from 3,484 in 2023.
Across Chaves County, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2022 on file reported 3,657 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Roswell Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Roswell 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 220 people, down from about 280 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 335 beds, and it ran at 67 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the New Mexico Corrections Department lists its inmates at cd.nm.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Roswell
For Roswell the place to look is the case index of the District Court for Chaves County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at chavescounty.gov/your-county/departments/clerk-s-office/public-docu..., phone 575-624-6600).
Statewide, New Mexico Courts Case Lookup is the New Mexico Judiciary's free statewide case search.
New Mexico does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety 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 Roswell
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Inspection of Public Records Act the agency must answer within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days, and it may charge copying at no more than $1 a page.
- An arrest by the Roswell police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at roswell-nm.gov/222/Incident-Arrest-Reports (page title: Reports | Roswell, NM), phone 575-624-6770, 128 W Second Street Roswell, NM 88201, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Chaves County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the District Court for Chaves County, through the court records page at chavescounty.gov, phone 575-624-6600.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at chavescounty.gov (page title: Request to Inspect Public Records | Chaves County, NM).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
The Chaves County guide covers every agency in the county: Chaves County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Roswell each year?
Roswell reported 3,241 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Roswell booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Chaves County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Roswell?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Chaves 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.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Roswell?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Roswell police for its own arrests, the Chaves County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Inspection of Public Records Act the answer is due within 15 calendar days, after acknowledging the request within 3 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at chavescounty.gov.
Is this the official Roswell 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.