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 between September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in Northampton County, has about 79,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Bethlehem is held at the county jail, run by the Northampton County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Bethlehem public records, Northampton County inmate search, Bethlehem arrest records, Bethlehem warrants, Bethlehem police reports, Bethlehem property records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Bethlehem
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Bethlehem is held at the county jail, run by the Northampton County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Northampton County Sheriff's Office at norcopa.gov/sheriffs-department (page title: Northampton County, PA), phone (610) 829-6501, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at (610) 829-6501.
The Northampton County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 570 people, down from about 670 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 838 beds, and it ran at 68 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Northampton County has about 323,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 18 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Northampton County Jail
The Northampton County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Bethlehem (filed by the FBI as Bethlehem Township Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Bethlehem.
The FBI's agency list also places one other agency, three campus police departments, three state agencies and one state police unit in Northampton County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Bethlehem's 2,157 for 2025, Colonial Regional's 672 for 2024 and Bethlehem (township)'s 502 for 2025.
Together, the 25 agencies in Northampton County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 5,473 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Bethlehem arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Northampton County serves the sentence in a facility of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Bethlehem?
Ask the Northampton County Sheriff's Office at (610) 829-6501; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at norcopa.gov/sheriffs-department.
How many people are in the Northampton County jail?
About 570 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 838 beds.
What is the phone number for the Northampton County jail?
(610) 829-6501, the number on the page of the Northampton County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Northampton County go?
To a facility of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov.
Is this the official Bethlehem 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.