SearchSystems Editorial

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 28, 2026.

About this guide

Chester County, Pennsylvania, has about 561,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Chester County Sheriff's Office, 40 city agencies and ten campus, state or other 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 Chester County Court of Common Pleas. 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: Chester County public records, Pennsylvania arrest records, Pennsylvania inmate search and Pennsylvania criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Chester County

The Chester County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Chester County. It reported 226 arrests for 2020, its latest complete year.

Arrests inside ten 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:

  • West Chester, 22,758 residents: 1,120 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Phoenixville, 20,286 residents: 399 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Coatesville, 13,390 residents: 508 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Downingtown, 8,463 residents: 161 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Kennett Square, 6,713 residents: 164 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Oxford, 5,909 residents: 39 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Parkesburg, 3,984 residents: 111 arrests reported for 2024.
  • Spring City, 3,925 residents: 28 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Malvern, 3,454 residents: 11 arrests reported for 2025.
  • Honey Brook, 1,915 residents: 33 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.

The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Chester County: the State Park Rangers at White Clay, the State Park Rangers at Marsh Creek, Forest Rangers's William Penn State Forest District 17, the Bureau of Forestry in Chester County and one more (state agency); Pennsylvania State University at Great Valley, West Chester University and Lincoln University (campus police); the Chester County State Police (state police); County Detective in Chester County (other).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Chester County

The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.

  • West Chester: 1,120 for 2025, 1,175 for 2024 and 716 for 2020; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Coatesville: 508 for 2025, 400 for 2024, 441 for 2023 and 325 for 2022.
  • West Goshen Township: 477 for 2025 and 417 for 2024.
  • Phoenixville: 399 for 2025, 300 for 2024 and 154 for 2020; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • East Whiteland Township: 364 for 2025, 313 for 2024 and 209 for 2020; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Caln Township: 303 for 2025, 370 for 2024, 191 for 2020 and 253 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Westtown-East Goshen Regional: 193 for 2025, 193 for 2024, 201 for 2020 and 218 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • West Caln Township: 166 for 2025, 198 for 2024, 155 for 2020 and 168 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Kennett Square: 164 for 2025, 124 for 2024, 151 for 2023 and 99 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
  • Downingtown: 161 for 2025, 150 for 2024, 275 for 2020 and 413 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Uwchlan Township: 160 for 2025, 177 for 2024, 122 for 2020 and 169 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
  • Tredyffrin Township: 158 for 2025 and 205 for 2020; 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are missing months.

Together, the 34 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,241 arrests that year. The 33 of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 5,083 in 2025 against 5,049 in 2024, up 0.7 percent.

Chester County Sheriff's Office, Parkesburg, Willistown Township, East Pikeland Township and three more reported only part of 2025 (10 months, 6 months, 11 months and 11 months) and are left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Chester County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Chester 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 2024 the jail held about 710 people, down from about 840 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,023 beds, and it ran at 67 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 Chester County Sheriff's Office at chesco.org/167/Sheriff (page title: Chester County Sheriff | Chester County, PA), phone 610-344-6850, 201 W Market Street, Suite 1201 West Chester, PA 19382, Fridays, 8:30am to 3:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.

A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections lists its inmates at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov.

How to Find Out About an Arrest in Chester County

An arrest in Chester County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: UJS Web Portal, the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search, which shows whether charges were filed; the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at chesco.org/5480/District-Attorney-Chris-de-Barrena-Sarob, phone 610-344-6866).

Pennsylvania is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: PATCH lets anyone request a criminal record check by name online, for $22 a search, through the Pennsylvania State Police. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.

Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Chester 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 Right-to-Know Law the agency must answer within 5 business days, with a 30-day extension, and it may charge copying at 25 cents a page.

  • An arrest by the Chester County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 610-344-6850.
  • An arrest in West Chester, Phoenixville, Coatesville, Downingtown, Kennett Square, Oxford or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
  • An arrest by the State Park Rangers at White Clay, the State Park Rangers at Marsh Creek or Forest Rangers's William Penn State Forest District 17: the records office of the agency involved.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 610-344-6866, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at chesco.justfoia.com/publicportal (page title: Chester County, PA Public Portal | JustFOIA).
  • Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.

Cities in Chester County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for ten of the 16 cities in Chester County: West Chester, Phoenixville, Coatesville, Downingtown, Kennett Square, Oxford, Parkesburg, Spring City, Malvern and Honey Brook. West Grove, South Coatesville, Elverson, Atglen, Avondale and Modena have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the West Brandywine Township Police Department, the West Pikeland Township Police Department, the East Marlborough Township Police Department and 27 more as city agencies in Chester County; West Brandywine Township, West Pikeland Township, East Marlborough Township and 27 more are not among the cities above.

Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Chester County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Chester County each year?

West Chester reported 1,120 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 34 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 5,241 between them.

How do I find out if someone is in jail in Chester County?

Ask the Chester County Sheriff's Office at 610-344-6850; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at chesco.org/167/Sheriff.

Where are people arrested in Chester County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Chester County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Chester County?

The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Pennsylvania State Police: PATCH lets anyone request a criminal record check by name online, for $22. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Right-to-Know Law.

How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Chester County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Chester 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at chesco.justfoia.com/publicportal.

Is this the official Chester 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.