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 on September 23, 2026.
Albany County, New York, has about 320,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Albany County depends on where the incident happened: the Albany County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the Freedom of Information Law requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Albany County public records, Albany County arrest records, Albany County warrants, Albany County inmate search, Albany County criminal records, New York arrest records and New York inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Albany County
A crime, incident or collision report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court, the jail or the prosecutor.
In Albany County that is the Albany County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
The FBI's list also carries the Albany State University of New York Police and the State University of New York at Albany (Plaza) (campus police), each with a records office of its own.
Reports from the Albany County Sheriff's Office
The Albany County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 10 violent and 51 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 475 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at albanycountyny.gov/sheriff (page title: County Sheriff | Albany County, NY), 996 Madison Avenue, Room 120 Albany, NY 12208, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Albany County
The seven cities the FBI lists in Albany County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Albany: 849 violent and 2,768 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,733 arrests reported for 2025.
- Cohoes: 52 violent and 167 property crimes reported for 2025; 531 arrests reported for 2025. The Cohoes police records page is at cohoes-ny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/144/FOIL-Request-for-Information-PDF (verified September 25, 2026).
- Watervliet: 23 violent and 187 property crimes reported for 2025; 358 arrests reported for 2025.
- Colonie: 123 violent and 2,372 property crimes reported for 2025; 1,673 arrests reported for 2025.
- Menands: 9 violent and 69 property crimes reported for 2025; 167 arrests reported for 2025.
- Green Island.
- Altamont: 0 violent and 2 property crimes reported for 2025; 0 arrests reported for 2025.
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 Reports: Albany County in 2025
The nine agencies in Albany County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,116 violent and 6,443 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the nine agencies in Albany County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,780 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Freedom of Information Law Requires
The Freedom of Information Law sets the rules: an answer within 5 business days, at least with an acknowledgment and a date for the full answer, at a charge of copying at 25 cents a page, from the agency that holds the report.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at albanycounty.nextrequest.com (page title: Open Public RecordsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (518) 487-5460, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Albany County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Albany County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Freedom of Information Law the answer is due within 5 business days, at least with an acknowledgment and a date for the full answer.
How long does an agency in Albany County have to answer?
Under the Freedom of Information Law, within 5 business days, at least with an acknowledgment and a date for the full answer. It may charge copying at 25 cents a page.
How do I get a report from the Albany County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. Under the Freedom of Information Law the answer is due within 5 business days, at least with an acknowledgment and a date for the full answer.
Is this the official Albany 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.