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.
Socorro County, New Mexico, has about 16,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Socorro County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and one campus agency. 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 Socorro 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: Socorro County public records, New Mexico arrest records, New Mexico inmate search and New Mexico criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Socorro County
The Socorro County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Socorro County. It reported 86 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists two cities in Socorro County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Socorro, 8,348 residents.
- Magdalena, 776 residents: 16 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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Socorro County: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Socorro 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.
- Socorro County Sheriff's Office: 86 for 2023, 157 for 2022 and 157 for 2021.
- Magdalena: 16 for 2022, 6 for 2021 and 52 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2022 on file reported 173 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2022 and 2021 complete reported 173 in 2022 against 163 in 2021, up 6.1 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Socorro County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Socorro County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 72 people, down from about 86 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 97 beds, and it ran at 89 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 Socorro County Sheriff's Office at socorrocounty.net/administration/detention-center (page title: Socorro County InfoNet | Detention Center), phone (575) 835-0945, 1001 Grefco Rd. Socorro, NM 87801, Monday through Friday, 9: 00 AM through 3:00 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
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 Socorro County
An arrest in Socorro County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the District Court for Socorro County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at socorronm.gov/locations/socorro-county-clerk, phone (575) 835-0240); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at nmdas.com/judicial-districts/seventh-judicial-district, phone (575) 835-0052).
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 Socorro 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 Socorro County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (575) 835-0945.
- An arrest in Socorro or Magdalena: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (575) 835-0052, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the District Court for Socorro County, through the court records page at socorronm.gov/locations/socorro-county-clerk, phone (575) 835-0240.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in Socorro County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Socorro County: Socorro and Magdalena.
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 Socorro County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Socorro County each year?
The Socorro County Sheriff's Office reported 86 arrests to the FBI for 2023. For 2022, the latest year most of the agencies in Socorro County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 173 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Socorro County?
Ask the Socorro County Sheriff's Office at (575) 835-0945; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at socorrocounty.net.
Where are people arrested in Socorro County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Socorro County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Socorro County?
The court files of criminal cases in the District Court for Socorro 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 Socorro County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Socorro 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.
Is this the official Socorro 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.