Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Burlington, Vermont, in Chittenden County, has about 44,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at a facility of the Vermont Department of Corrections, and, if the State's Attorney files charges, a case in the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Burlington public records, Chittenden County arrest records, Vermont arrest records and Vermont inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Burlington
The FBI lists Burlington with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Burlington Police Department. It reported 1,351 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Chittenden County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 76 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Chittenden County: the University of Vermont (campus police); Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations (other); the Williston State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Burlington Reports
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.
- Burlington: 1,351 for 2025, 1,147 for 2024, 1,119 for 2023, 777 for 2022, 650 for 2021 and 887 for 2020.
Burlington's 1,351 arrests in 2025 were up 18 percent from 1,147 in 2024.
Through September 2026, Burlington reported 795 arrests, against 1,039 in the same months of 2025.
Across Chittenden County, the ten agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,497 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Burlington Are Held
Vermont has no county jails. A person held after an arrest in Burlington is in the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections, which runs every jail and prison in the state, so one inmate lookup covers the whole state.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Vermont Department of Corrections lists its inmates at vermont.gov/service/offender-locator.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Burlington
Whether someone was arrested in Burlington, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the Vermont Department of Corrections's inmate locator, for anyone held; the case index of the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at vtcourts.gov/court-locations/chittenden-civil-division, phone 800-540-9990); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at acluvt.org/getting-know-vermonts-states-attorneys).
Statewide, Vermont Judiciary Public Portal is the courts' free statewide case search.
Vermont is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: Vermont criminal conviction records are public and can be ordered online on anyone by name, through the Vermont Crime Information Center. 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 Burlington
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Vermont Public Records Act the agency must answer within 3 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying, and staff time after the first 30 minutes.
- An arrest by the Burlington police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at burlingtonvt.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1035/Records-Unit-PDF (page title: Burlington Police Department Records Division), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Chittenden County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, through the court records page at vtcourts.gov, phone 800-540-9990.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Chittenden County guide covers every agency in the county: Chittenden County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Burlington each year?
Burlington reported 1,351 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Burlington?
Through the Vermont Department of Corrections's inmate locator at vermont.gov/service/offender-locator; the department holds everyone in custody in Vermont.
Where are people arrested in Burlington booked?
In a facility of the Vermont Department of Corrections, which runs every jail in Vermont.
Are arrest records public in Burlington?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Vermont Crime Information Center: Vermont criminal conviction records are public and can be ordered online on anyone by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Vermont Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Burlington?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Burlington police for its own arrests, the Chittenden County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Vermont Public Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.
Is this the official Burlington 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.