Kings County Arrest Records

Kings County arrest records are official law enforcement documents recording offender bookings conducted in the county. These records are created when police officers and Sheriff’s deputies arrest individuals observed, or suspected, to have committed criminal offenses. Arrests may also be made in cases of suspected or reported civil infractions. Pending a court injunction or other resolution, arrested individuals are held in the county jail.

In Kings County, arrests are made by the New York City Sheriff’s Office (NYCSO) and the New York Police Department (NYPD). To find Kings County arrest records, contact these law enforcement agencies to request access to specific arrest records. The New York Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) also maintains the records of all arrests made in the state, including Kings County arrests.

Arrest records are part of Kings County court records when the offenses recorded in them are tried at courts of law in the county. In most cases, they are the initial criminal or civil court records included in the documentation of matters brought before courts in Kings County.

Are Arrest Records Public in Kings County?

Yes. The New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) guarantees public access to arrest records maintained by law enforcement agencies in the state, except for those contained in the criminal records maintained by the DCJS. For other law enforcement agencies in the state, including the NYPD and Sheriff’s Office in Kings County, public access to arrest records is allowed. However, certain arrest records are withheld from public access. These confidential records are restricted by court order or state/federal statute. Other types of Kings County arrest record that may be unavailable to the public include:

• Juvenile arrest records
• Arrest records providing evidentiary information, especially for an ongoing investigation or case
• Expunged arrest records, or those included in sealed court records

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

The details included in a Kings County arrest record include:

• Full name of the arrestee
• Arrestee’s gender, address, and age
• Charge necessitating the arrest
• Law enforcement agency effecting the arrest
• Name of the arresting officer
• Booking number
• Date and location of arrest

Kings County Crime Rate

The New York Department of Criminal Justice Services collates all crime and arrest data for all 62 counties in the state as provided by the various sheriff’s offices, police departments, and probation departments in New York State. According to the DCJS latest data, there were 17,123 violent crimes and 45,293 property crimes reported in Kings County in 2022. A breakdown of these figures showed that the county recorded 140 murders, 729 rapes, 4,479 robberies, 11,775 aggravated assaults, 4,104 burglaries, 37,481 larcenies, and 3,708 motor vehicle thefts.

Kings County Arrest Statistics

The DCJS also provides arrest data for all counties in New York State. It separates adult arrests from juvenile arrests. While adult arrest figures are available for Kings County, arrest numbers for minors are unavailable because the NYPD does not provide juvenile arrest data. In 2021, law enforcement agencies in Kings County reported 18,827 felony arrests and 20,233 misdemeanor arrests for adult offenders.

DCJS data also show that there were 16,227 individuals in county jails in New York State in 2023. This figure represents a 5% increase compared to the state’s total jail population for 2022.

Find Kings County Arrest Records

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DCCS) provides a lookup tool for locating inmates remanded in any of the prisons operating in New York State. Members of the public can use this Incarcerated Lookup search to find arrested offenders serving time by their ID numbers. The Kings County sheriff’s office also manages the local jail for arrestees with pending court cases, convicts waiting to be transferred to state prisons, and individuals sentenced to up to one year of incarceration. To locate individuals in the sheriff’s county jail, contact the sheriff’s office to enquire about them. The NYPD can also provide the records or availability of individuals the agency arrested.

Kings County is also home to a federal prison, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The Federal Bureau of Prisons manages this facility and provides an inmate lookup tool to help find individuals incarcerated there either by name or their registration number.

Free Arrest Record Search in Kings County

Different government agencies provide access to Kings County arrest records as well as inmate locator tools. Some of these are:

• New York City Correction Department Inmate Lookup
• DCCS Incarcerated Lookup search
• BOP inmate lookup tool

In addition to these local, state, and federal arrest and inmate information tools, there are third-party websites offering access to public arrest records as part of criminal and court records. These non-official resources provide convenient and quick access to arrest records. However, their records may be out-of-date and need to be verified with official resources.

Get Kings County Criminal Records

Kings County criminal records are documents prepared by various law enforcement agencies in the county describing arrests, charges, convictions, and incarcerations in the county. An individual’s criminal record details instances of these outcomes for that person. The complete record of an individual’s criminal arrests and court sentencing is collected in their criminal history or rap (record of arrest and prosecution) sheet. This record is obtained when a background check is conducted. Employers usually run such checks on potential employees.

The New York Department of Criminal Justice Services provides official arrest and conviction histories for Kings County. To run a background check on an individual in the county, the DCJS requires a set of their fingerprints. Note that sealed criminal records are not provided on rap sheets requested by employers, licensing bodies, and credit reporting agencies. Only official personnel can access such information. Expunged records are not available to anyone regardless of authority.

Kings County residents can request their own criminal history records from the DCJS by providing their fingerprints. They would either get their rap sheets or a “no record” response if they do not have a criminal history in New York State. The DCJS does not provide rap sheets to members of the public requesting the criminal histories of other citizens besides themselves.

To get your criminal records from the DCJS, you must visit the IdentoGo website or call them at (877) 472-6915 to schedule an appointment to have your fingerprints taken. Provide the code 15464Z to obtain a suppressed record and 15465F for an unsuppressed record. A suppressed background check record does not include sealed and other confidential criminal histories. An unsuppressed criminal history record includes all of your rap sheet including dismissed cases and charges as well as juvenile adjudications.

Bring a form of identification to the fingerprinting appointment. If you are a parent or legal guardian requesting the criminal record of a minor, you must complete and provide a New York Photo ID Waiver for Minors form. IdentoGo charges $14.25 for each record request and fingerprinting appointment and accepts payment via credit cards as well as money orders and checks made out to “Idemia”. IdentoGo will forward your request and fingerprints to the DCJS.

The DCJS will mail the criminal records found, or a “no record” response to your address by mail within 3 - 4 weeks of receiving your request. If you live outside New York State, the DCJS provides alternative instructions for getting fingerprinted by IdentoGo.

Kings County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

While they are sometimes used interchangeably, an arrest record is different from a criminal record. Criminal records may include arrest records but they document the totality of the legal process starting from arrest and ending in dismissal or conviction and incarceration. Therefore, a Kings County arrest record details the first stage of the criminal justice chain and only describes the booking of an individual. On the other hand, a Kings County criminal record provides a more complete overview of the criminal justice process. While only law enforcement agencies are involved in the preparation of arrest records, criminal records also require the involvement of courts and correctional facilities.

Employers looking to conduct background checks cannot fully rely on arrest records to conclude on the appropriateness of potential hires. Not all arrests lead to convictions. Only a criminal record can indicate the severity of the offense for which an individual was arrested and whether a court found them guilty or not.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrest records are permanently retained in the State of New York unless expunged or sealed by court order. Therefore, criminal records provided by local law enforcement agencies in Kings County as well as the DCJS will always include arrest records as long as the individuals mentioned in those records did not successfully have them sealed or expunged.

Expunge Kings County Arrest Records

An expunged Kings County arrest record is not simply redacted or sealed; it is completely removed as if the arrest never happened. Expunging a Kings County criminal record requires a state law or court order. The State of New York does not make provision for the expungement of criminal records except for certain marijuana offenses. With the legalization of medical and adult-use marijuana in the state, a number of marijuana charges qualify for automatic expungement from the records of the individuals arrested for them.

Individuals eligible for automatic marijuana offense expungement include those arrested for possession of up to 16 ounces of marijuana or sale of up to 25 grams of marijuana and charged with:

• Unlawful Possession of Marijuana in the Second and First Degrees
• Criminal Possession of Marijuana in the Fourth and Third Degrees
• Criminal Sale of Marijuana in the Fifth and Fourth Degree
• Restrictions on Cannabis Use
• Personal Cultivation and Home Possession of Cannabis
• Unlawful Possession of Cannabis
• Unlawful Sale of Cannabis

And the following offenses, only if the hashish or concentrated cannabis was the only controlled substance found in possession of the offender:

• Loitering in the First Degree
• Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh and Fifth Degrees

It is more likely to seal a Kings County criminal record than getting it expunged. To be eligible for criminal record sealing, you must:

• Not be convicted of more than two misdemeanor offenses or one felony and one misdemeanor
• Have remained crime-free for 10 years after your last criminal conviction or after release from jail/prison, whichever is later
• Have no pending criminal cases
• Not be required to register as a sex offender according to New York law

New York does not seal criminal records automatically. To request that your Kings County criminal records be sealed, you must:

• Complete and submit a Criminal Certificate of Disposition for each case whose record you want sealed
• Pay a $10 fee to the Kings County court. Courts outside New York City charge $5
• After getting this certificate approved, complete a Sealing Application and have it notarized. Attach any evidence of your rehabilitation
• Notify the District Attorney of your application by providing copies of the disposition, sealing application, and proof of rehabilitation by serving them to the Kings County DA office by hand or mail
• After serving the DA, make sure to complete and notarize an Affidavit of Service
• File the original copies of the criminal certificate of disposition, sealing application, evidence of rehabilitation, and affidavit of service with the court holding the record you want sealed

If your application is successful, the court will send you a signed Seal Order. To confirm your Kings County arrest record has been sealed, complete and mail a Request for Seal Verification form, with a copy of the court-signed Seal Order attached, to the DCJS.

Kings County Arrest Warrants

Kings County arrest warrants are legal documents issued by courts in the county authorizing local or state law enforcement agencies to apprehend the individuals named in the warrants. Typically, the prosecutor or law enforcement agencies may approach a judge to issue a warrant to arrest an individual. The judge would require them to provide probable cause for the warrant. A Kings County court may also issue an arrest warrant for an individual who failed to appear in court or was found to have violated their parole or probation.

An arrest warrant issued in Kings County must include the following details:

• Name and other identifying information about the person to be arrested
• Arrest charge or reason for the arrest
• Name of the court authorizing the warrant
• Warrant issuance date and warrant number
• Name and signature of the judge issuing the warrant

Kings County Arrest Warrant Search

To find an active arrest warrant in Kings County, you must contact both the NYPD and the New York City Sheriff’s Office. To search for an arrest warrant issued by the NYPD, contact the city’s Criminal Court information line by calling (646) 386-4900 or visiting their office located at 120 Schermerhorn Street.This office can be contacted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday.

For Kings County arrest warrants executed by the Sheriff’s Office, visit the Brooklyn branch located at:

345 Adams Street
5th floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201

This office is also open from Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Alternatively, call (212) 639-9675.

Do Kings County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Arrest warrants do not expire in Kings County. This no-expiration rule applies to both arrest and bench warrants. An arrest warrant is only cleared when the individual named on it appears before a judge in the court that issued the warrant or if when that individual dies.