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

Who Makes Arrests in Chittenden County

The Chittenden County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Chittenden County. It reported 76 arrests for 2025. In Vermont the police for a given address is the town police, the county sheriff or the Vermont State Police, whichever took the call.

The FBI lists four cities in Chittenden County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:

• Burlington, 44,432 residents: 1,351 arrests reported for 2025.
• South Burlington, 21,713 residents: 537 arrests reported for 2025.
• Essex Junction, 10,787 residents: 335 arrests reported for 2025.
• Winooski, 8,370 residents: 141 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 Chittenden County: the University of Vermont (campus police); Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations (other); the Williston State Police (state police).

How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Chittenden 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.

• Burlington: 1,351 for 2025, 1,147 for 2024, 1,119 for 2023, 777 for 2022, 650 for 2021 and 887 for 2020.
• South Burlington: 537 for 2025, 518 for 2024, 589 for 2023, 453 for 2022, 382 for 2021 and 517 for 2020.
• Williston: 385 for 2025, 482 for 2024, 478 for 2023, 322 for 2022, 200 for 2021 and 325 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
• Colchester: 379 for 2025, 318 for 2024, 266 for 2023, 310 for 2022, 279 for 2021 and 400 for 2020.
• Essex Junction: 335 for 2025, 286 for 2024, 234 for 2023, 238 for 2022, 167 for 2021 and 194 for 2020.
• Milton: 211 for 2025, 202 for 2024, 191 for 2023, 199 for 2022, 150 for 2021 and 220 for 2020.
• Winooski: 141 for 2025, 156 for 2024, 173 for 2023, 200 for 2022, 118 for 2021 and 181 for 2020.
• Chittenden County Sheriff's Office: 76 for 2025, 79 for 2024 and 10 for 2023.
• Shelburne: 45 for 2025, 60 for 2024, 54 for 2023, 45 for 2022, 65 for 2021 and 49 for 2020.
• Hinesburg: 37 for 2025, 52 for 2024, 32 for 2023, 13 for 2022, 4 for 2021 and 4 for 2020.
• Richmond: 4 for 2024, 5 for 2023, 5 for 2021, 15 for 2020 and 17 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.

Together, the ten agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,497 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,497 in 2025 against 3,300 in 2024, up 6 percent.

Through August 2026, the ten agencies with every month so far on file reported 2,060 arrests, against 2,379 in the same months of 2025.

Richmond reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Chittenden County Are Held

Vermont has no county jails. A person held after an arrest in Chittenden County 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 Chittenden County

An arrest in Chittenden County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: 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 Chittenden 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 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 Chittenden County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
• An arrest in Burlington, South Burlington, Essex Junction or Winooski: 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 University of Vermont, Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations or the Williston State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
• 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.

Cities in Chittenden County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Chittenden County: Burlington, South Burlington, Essex Junction and Winooski. The FBI's list also carries the Colchester Police Department, the Milton Police Department, the Shelburne Police Department and three more as city agencies in Chittenden County; Colchester, Milton, Shelburne and three more are not among the cities above.

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

• Burlington (44,432)
• South Burlington (21,713)
• Essex Junction (10,787)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Chittenden County each year?

Burlington reported 1,351 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the ten agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,497 between them.

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

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 Chittenden County booked?

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

Are arrest records public in Chittenden County?

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 Chittenden County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Chittenden County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Vermont Public Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.

Is this the official Chittenden 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.