New Brunswick Criminal Record Search
New Brunswick criminal history records are accessible through the city's Records Bureau, municipal court, and Middlesex County agencies. As the county seat of Middlesex County, New Brunswick is home to the Superior Court that processes indictable cases from across the county. The city also hosts Rutgers University, which operates its own police force with separate record-keeping. Searching for criminal history here means navigating several agencies, each holding different types of records.
New Brunswick Quick Facts
New Brunswick Police Criminal History
The New Brunswick Police Department operates a Records Bureau that handles public requests for police reports and criminal history documents. The bureau is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:45 PM. You can reach them by email at records@nbpdnj.org for questions about record availability and request procedures.
Details about the Records Bureau and how to submit requests are available on the New Brunswick Police records page.
Walk-in requests are accepted during regular business hours at the bureau window.
OPRA governs how records are released. Under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, government records are presumed open. The agency must respond within seven business days. Copy fees in New Brunswick follow state guidelines. Emailed responses are free. Letter-size paper copies cost $0.05 each. Legal-size copies cost $0.07. A USB drive with electronic records costs $5.00.
Rutgers University Criminal Records
Rutgers University Police Department is at 55 Paul Robeson Boulevard in New Brunswick. The records unit can be reached at recordscentral@ipo.rutgers.edu or by calling (848) 932-6512. Rutgers Police are sworn law enforcement officers with full arrest powers on university property and surrounding areas.
Arrests made by Rutgers Police generate their own set of criminal history records. These are separate from records held by the New Brunswick Police Department. If an incident occurs on or near campus, both agencies may have relevant files. Checking both is important for a complete criminal history search in New Brunswick.
Note: Rutgers Police records are subject to OPRA, just like municipal police records. The same seven-business-day response window and copy fee schedule apply.
Criminal History at New Brunswick Court
The New Brunswick Municipal Court is at 25 Kirkpatrick Street. The phone number is (732) 745-5089. This court handles disorderly persons offenses, petty disorderly persons offenses, and local ordinance violations. Each case creates an entry in the individual's criminal history through the PROMIS/Gavel system.
Municipal court cases are searchable through the New Jersey Courts municipal public access portal.
The portal provides free access to basic case data by name or docket number.
Disorderly persons convictions carry up to six months in jail under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-8. These records remain part of a person's criminal history unless expunged. The five-year waiting period for expungement of disorderly persons offenses means these entries stay visible for years after the case closes.
New Brunswick Criminal Cases at Superior Court
As the county seat, New Brunswick hosts the Middlesex County Superior Court. Indictable criminal offenses from across the county are prosecuted here. The Criminal Division handles all felony-level cases, from grand jury proceedings through trial and sentencing. Records generated at each stage become part of the county's criminal history system.
You can search Middlesex County court records through the PROMIS/Gavel public access portal, which covers criminal cases from all municipalities in the county.
The Middlesex County Sheriff at 701 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick handles warrant service and prisoner transport. Call 732-745-3381 for information. The County Clerk at 75 Bayard Street, reachable at 732-745-3005, maintains official court documents and can provide certified copies of criminal case records.
Expungement of New Brunswick Records
New Brunswick residents can petition for expungement of eligible criminal records. The petition is filed in Middlesex County Superior Court under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1. Because New Brunswick is the county seat, the courthouse is in the city itself, making the filing process more convenient for local residents.
Eligibility depends on the offense and the time since the sentence was completed. A single indictable conviction requires six years. Disorderly persons offenses require five years. The Clean Slate Act created automatic expungement pathways for certain marijuana convictions and older minor offenses.
Once granted, the expungement order goes to New Brunswick Police, Rutgers Police if applicable, the Middlesex County Prosecutor, the court, and the State Police central repository. All agencies must remove the record from public access.
Note: Expungement does not destroy the record. It isolates it so that standard criminal history searches will not return it. Law enforcement retains limited access under specific statutory conditions.
New Brunswick Sex Offender Records
Sex offenders in New Brunswick must register with local police under Megan's Law. The State Police sex offender registry provides online search capability. You can look up offenders by name, address, or zip code. This registry is a public criminal history resource available to all.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 offenders are subject to community notification. Schools, community organizations, and nearby residents are informed. All tiers create permanent criminal history entries under N.J.S.A. 2C:7-1. The registry operates under its own legal framework, separate from the standard criminal history system.
Middlesex County Criminal History Records
New Brunswick serves as the county seat of Middlesex County. The Superior Court system that processes all indictable cases from across the county is located here. The county maintains criminal history records for every municipality within its borders. For more details about county-level criminal history resources, databases, and agencies, visit the Middlesex County criminal history records page.