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 between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Adams County, Pennsylvania, has about 108,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Adams County depends on where the incident happened: the Adams 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 Right-to-Know 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: Adams County public records, Adams County arrest records, Adams County warrants, Adams County inmate search, Adams County criminal records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Adams County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In Adams County that is the Adams 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 places the Adams County State Police in Adams County; a report taken on a state highway by it comes from that agency's own records office.
The FBI's agency list also places two state agencies and three other agencies in Adams County, each with a records office of its own.
Reports from the Adams County Sheriff's Office
The Adams County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 0 violent and 0 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 0 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at adamscosheriff.net/portal/Jail?hours=24 (page title: Inmates | ISOMS Portal), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Adams County
The eight cities the FBI lists in Adams County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Gettysburg: 14 violent and 34 property crimes reported for 2025; 347 arrests reported for 2025. The Gettysburg police department's page is at gettysburgpa.gov/270/Police-DepartmentPublic-Safety, phone 717.334.1168 (verified September 26, 2026).
- Littlestown: 1 violent and 26 property crimes reported for 2025; 124 arrests reported for 2025.
- Carroll Valley: 0 violent and 28 property crimes reported for 2025; 18 arrests reported for 2025.
- McSherrystown: 4 violent and 15 property crimes reported for 2025; 48 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bonneauville: 0 violent and 1 property crimes reported for 2025; 0 arrests reported for 2025.
- East Berlin: 0 violent and 0 property crimes reported for 2025; 0 arrests reported for 2025.
- Biglerville: 1 violent and 7 property crimes reported for 2025; 20 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bendersville: 0 arrests reported for 2020.
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: Adams County in 2025
The 13 agencies in Adams County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 36 violent and 190 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the 13 agencies in Adams County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 656 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the Right-to-Know Law Requires
Under the Right-to-Know Law the agency must answer a request within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension, and it may charge copying at 25 cents a page. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 717-337-9840, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Adams County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Adams County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Right-to-Know Law the answer is due within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension.
How long does an agency in Adams County have to answer?
Under the Right-to-Know Law, within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension. It may charge copying at 25 cents a page.
Who has a crash report from a state highway in Adams County?
The state agency whose officer took it; the FBI lists the Adams County State Police in Adams County.
How do I get a report from the Adams County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit. Under the Right-to-Know Law the answer is due within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension.
Is this the official Adams 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.