Providence County Arrest Records: Who Makes Arrests, Where People Are Booked and How to Get the Report

Who Makes Arrests in Providence County

Rhode Island has no county sheriff with a patrol role. Arrests in Providence County are made by the state police or the town police, and in Rhode Island the police for a given address is the town police in a town with its own department and the state police elsewhere.

Arrests inside six 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:

• Providence, 194,706 residents: 2,356 arrests reported for 2025.
• Cranston, 84,448 residents: 1,427 arrests reported for 2025.
• Pawtucket, 76,996 residents: 2,036 arrests reported for 2025.
• East Providence, 47,961 residents: 948 arrests reported for 2024.
• Woonsocket, 44,508 residents: 1,466 arrests reported for 2025.
• Central Falls, 23,034 residents: 434 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 one more agency in Providence County: Brown University (campus police).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Providence County

Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.

• Providence: 2,356 for 2025, 1,942 for 2024, 1,900 for 2023, 1,872 for 2022, 1,306 for 2021 and 1,149 for 2020.
• Pawtucket: 2,036 for 2025, 2,341 for 2024, 2,165 for 2023, 2,268 for 2022, 2,184 for 2021 and 1,965 for 2020.
• Woonsocket: 1,466 for 2025, 1,525 for 2024, 1,645 for 2023, 1,584 for 2022, 1,611 for 2021 and 1,384 for 2020.
• Cranston: 1,427 for 2025, 1,227 for 2024, 1,224 for 2023, 1,151 for 2022, 1,178 for 2021 and 1,176 for 2020.
• North Providence: 822 for 2025, 800 for 2024, 782 for 2023, 721 for 2022, 636 for 2021 and 685 for 2020.
• Lincoln: 605 for 2025, 505 for 2024, 460 for 2023, 347 for 2022, 326 for 2021 and 490 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
• Johnston: 494 for 2025, 553 for 2024, 536 for 2023, 411 for 2022, 455 for 2021 and 351 for 2020.
• Central Falls: 434 for 2025, 463 for 2024, 506 for 2023, 457 for 2022, 430 for 2021 and 471 for 2020.
• Smithfield: 352 for 2025, 417 for 2024, 366 for 2023, 280 for 2022, 263 for 2021 and 292 for 2020.
• Cumberland: 307 for 2025, 340 for 2024, 298 for 2023, 302 for 2022, 470 for 2021 and 391 for 2020.
• Burrillville: 253 for 2025, 264 for 2024, 242 for 2023, 249 for 2022, 270 for 2021 and 257 for 2020.
• North Smithfield: 236 for 2025, 298 for 2024, 339 for 2023, 332 for 2022, 341 for 2021 and 434 for 2020.

Together, the 15 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 11,074 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 11,074 in 2025 against 10,936 in 2024, up 1.3 percent.

Through April 2026, the 12 agencies with every month so far on file reported 3,238 arrests, against 3,315 in the same months of 2025.

East Providence reported only part of 2025 (9 months) and is left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Providence County Are Held

In Rhode Island the jails belong to the state. Anyone held after an arrest in Providence County is booked into a facility of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and the inmate lookup is the state's.

A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Rhode Island Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.ri.gov/family-visitors/incarceration-search.

How to Find Out About an Arrest in Providence County

Whether someone was arrested in Providence County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the Rhode Island Department of Corrections's inmate locator, for anyone held; the case index of the Rhode Island Superior Court, Providence County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.ri.gov/Public-Resources/Pages/case-information.aspx).

Statewide, Rhode Island Judiciary Public Portal is the courts' free statewide case search.

Rhode Island does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Rhode Island Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Identification goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.

Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Providence 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 Access to Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 business days, and it may charge copying at 15 cents a page and search time after the first hour.

• An arrest in Providence, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket or Central Falls: 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 Brown University: the records office of the agency involved.
• The court file of a case that was filed: the Rhode Island Superior Court, Providence County, through the court records page at courts.ri.gov.
• Your own statewide record: a request in person to the Bureau of Criminal Identification.

Cities in Providence County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the six cities in Providence County: Providence, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket and Central Falls. The FBI's list also carries the Scituate Police Department, the Smithfield Police Department, the Foster Police Department and seven more as city agencies in Providence County; Scituate, Smithfield, Foster and seven more are not among the cities above.

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

• Cranston (84,448)
• Pawtucket (76,996)
• East Providence (47,961)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Providence County each year?

Providence reported 2,356 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the 15 agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 11,074 between them.

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

Through the Rhode Island Department of Corrections's inmate locator at doc.ri.gov; the department holds everyone in custody in Rhode Island.

Where are people arrested in Providence County booked?

In a facility of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which runs every jail in Rhode Island.

Are arrest records public in Providence County?

The court files of criminal cases in the Rhode Island Superior Court, Providence County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Rhode Island Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Identification is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Access to Public Records Act.

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

From the agency that made the arrest: in Rhode Island, the state police or the town police. Under the Access to Public Records Act the answer is due within 10 business days.

Is this the official Providence 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.