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 24, 2026.
Otero County, New Mexico, has about 70,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Otero County Sheriff's Office and three city 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 District Attorney files charges, a case in the District Court for Otero 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: Otero County public records, New Mexico arrest records, New Mexico inmate search and New Mexico criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Otero County
The Otero County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Otero County. It reported 742 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Alamogordo, 31,667 residents: 2,378 arrests reported for 2024.
- Tularosa, 2,632 residents: 98 arrests reported for 2019.
- Cloudcroft, 756 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2022.
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.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Otero County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Alamogordo: 2,378 for 2024, 1,328 for 2023, 1,194 for 2022, 1,132 for 2021 and 3,315 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Cloudcroft: 7 for 2022, 6 for 2021 and 1 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Otero County Sheriff's Office: 742 for 2025 and 319 for 2019; 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- Tularosa: 98 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2022 on file reported 1,201 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2022 and 2021 complete reported 1,201 in 2022 against 1,138 in 2021, up 5.5 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Otero County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Otero 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 210 people, up from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 208 beds, and it ran at 90 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 Otero County Sheriff's Office at co.otero.nm.us/300/Information-for-Inmates (page title: Information for Inmates | Otero County, NM), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the New Mexico Corrections Department, whose inmate locator is at cd.nm.gov.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Otero County
For Otero County the place to look is the case index of the District Court for Otero County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at occlerk.co.otero.nm.us/CTWeb/login.aspx).
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 Otero 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 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 Otero County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Alamogordo, Tularosa or Cloudcroft: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the District Court for Otero County, through the court records page at occlerk.co.otero.nm.us/CTWeb/login.aspx.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.otero.nm.us/268/Public-Records-Request (page title: Public Records Request | Otero County, NM).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in Otero County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the three cities in Otero County: Alamogordo, Tularosa and Cloudcroft.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the District Court for Otero County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Otero County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Alamogordo (31,667)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Otero County each year?
Alamogordo reported 2,378 arrests to the FBI for 2024. For 2022, the latest year most of the agencies in Otero County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 1,201 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Otero County?
Ask the Otero County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.otero.nm.us/300/Information-for-Inmates.
Where are people arrested in Otero County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Otero County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Otero County?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Otero 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 Otero County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Otero County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. 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 co.otero.nm.us/268/Public-Records-Request.
Is this the official Otero 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.