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 30, 2026.
Erie County, Pennsylvania, has about 268,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Erie County Sheriff's Office, ten city agencies and 13 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 Erie 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: Erie County public records, Pennsylvania arrest records, Pennsylvania inmate search and Pennsylvania criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Erie County
The Erie County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Erie County. It reported 134 arrests for 2019, its latest complete year.
Arrests inside eight 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:
- Erie, 92,940 residents: 3,399 arrests reported for 2025.
- Corry, 6,065 residents: 319 arrests reported for 2024.
- Edinboro, 5,814 residents: 385 arrests reported for 2024.
- North East, 4,055 residents: 118 arrests reported for 2024.
- Wesleyville, 3,135 residents: 63 arrests reported for 2025.
- Girard, 2,941 residents: 83 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lake City, 2,866 residents: 29 arrests reported for 2025.
- Union City, 2,857 residents: 57 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Erie County: the Fairview School District, the Harbor Creek School District, County Detective in Erie County and the Erie Municipal Airport Authority (other); the Bureau of Forestry in Erie County, the Office of Attorney General Region 3 in Erie County and the State Park Rangers at Presque Isle (state agency); the Erie County State Police (state police); Edinboro University, Pennsylvania State University at Behrend, Mercyhurst University, Gannon University and one more (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Erie 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.
- Erie: 3,399 for 2025, 3,351 for 2024, 2,959 for 2023, 2,401 for 2022, 2,371 for 2020 and 3,426 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Edinboro: 385 for 2024.
- Corry: 319 for 2024 and 257 for 2020; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Girard: 83 for 2025 and 176 for 2024.
- North East: 118 for 2024, 76 for 2020 and 87 for 2019; 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Wesleyville: 63 for 2025, 86 for 2024, 38 for 2023 and 37 for 2020; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Union City: 57 for 2024, 62 for 2023, 52 for 2020 and 64 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Lake City: 29 for 2025, 23 for 2024, 26 for 2023, 85 for 2020 and 0 for 2019; 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
- Millcreek Township: 767 for 2025 and 928 for 2020; 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- Erie County Sheriff's Office: 134 for 2019.
- Lawrence Park Township: 63 for 2025, 160 for 2020 and 169 for 2019; 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
Together, the eight agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 4,515 arrests that year. The four of them with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 3,517 in 2024 against 3,085 in 2023, up 14 percent.
Erie County Sheriff's Office, Millcreek Township and Lawrence Park Township reported only part of 2024 (5 months, 10 months and 8 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Erie County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Erie 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 2023 the jail held about 670 people, up from about 590 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 710 beds, and it ran at 95 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 Erie County Sheriff's Office at eriecountypa.gov/search/sheriff (page title: sheriff | Erie County, PA), phone 814-451-7436, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Erie County
An arrest in Erie 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 eriecountypa.gov/departments/district-attorneys-office/district-att..., phone 814-451-6349).
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 Erie County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Erie County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 814-451-7436.
- An arrest in Erie, Corry, Edinboro, North East, Wesleyville, Girard or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Fairview School District, the Harbor Creek School District or the Bureau of Forestry in Erie County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 814-451-6349, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at eriecountypa.nextrequest.com (page title: Open Public RecordsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Erie County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for eight of the 16 cities in Erie County: Erie, Corry, Edinboro, North East, Wesleyville, Girard, Lake City and Union City. Albion, Waterford, Cranesville, McKean, Platea, Mill Village, Wattsburg and Elgin have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries Millcreek Township Police Department, Erie County and the Lawrence Park Township Police Department as city agencies in Erie County; Millcreek Township and Lawrence Park Township 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 Erie County Court of Common Pleas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Erie County each year?
Erie reported 3,399 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Erie County sent in full, the eight with every month on file reported 4,515 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Erie County?
Ask the Erie County Sheriff's Office at 814-451-7436; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at eriecountypa.gov/search/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Erie County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Erie County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Erie 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 Erie County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Erie 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 eriecountypa.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official Erie 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.