Lehigh County Recent Arrests
Lehigh County recent arrests can be searched through the Sheriff's Office, the county Department of Corrections, and Pennsylvania's statewide court portal. The county seat is Allentown, the third-largest city in the state. With a population of about 375,000, Lehigh County is part of the Lehigh Valley metro area and handles a high volume of criminal cases each year. Arrest records, booking data, and court case information are available through county offices and online tools described on this page.
Lehigh County Quick Facts
Lehigh County Recent Arrests and Jail Data
The Lehigh County Department of Corrections operates the Lehigh County Jail, located at 38 North 4th Street in Allentown, PA 18101. The facility houses pretrial detainees and inmates serving county sentences. Each booking creates a record that includes the arrestee's name, charges, bail amount, and arresting agency. The Lehigh County Sheriff's Office handles warrant service, court security, and prisoner transport throughout the county.
Lehigh County recent arrests are processed through the jail's intake system. Under 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 91, arrest fingerprints from Lehigh County must be forwarded to the Pennsylvania State Police central repository. The Allentown Police Department, along with departments in Bethlehem (Lehigh County portion), Emmaus, Whitehall Township, and other municipalities, all submit arrest data to this statewide system.
The Lehigh County jail processes a significant number of bookings each year given the urban population centered around Allentown. The facility provides an inmate search tool that allows the public to look up current inmates by name. This can be a useful starting point for finding information about recent arrests in Lehigh County.
Lehigh County Arrest Court Records
The Lehigh County Clerk of Courts manages criminal case files at the Lehigh County Courthouse, located at 455 West Hamilton Street in Allentown, PA 18101. Criminal cases tied to recent arrests in Lehigh County are filed and tracked through this office. You can request copies of docket sheets, sentencing orders, and other court documents related to criminal proceedings.
The Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas handles felony and misdemeanor cases. Multiple Magisterial District Courts across the county process preliminary hearings, arraignments, and summary offenses. Under the Right-to-Know Law at 65 P.S. Section 67.101, most court records in Lehigh County are open to the public. You can visit the courthouse or submit a written request for records.
The Lehigh County District Attorney's Office files charges and prosecutes criminal cases arising from arrests throughout the county. The office handles a large caseload that reflects the county's urban and suburban population, with Allentown generating the highest volume of criminal cases in the Lehigh Valley.
Searching Recent Arrests in Lehigh County
The Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System Web Portal is one of the best free tools for finding court records tied to Lehigh County recent arrests. You can search by name, date of birth, or case number.
The UJS portal covers all courts in Lehigh County, including the Court of Common Pleas and the Magisterial District Courts in Allentown, South Whitehall, Salisbury, Upper Macungie, and other areas. Docket sheets show charges, hearing dates, bail conditions, and case outcomes. The portal is updated as court staff enter new data. You can also use the free PAeDocket app on Apple and Android devices.
For state prison records, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Inmate Locator covers anyone sentenced to a state facility from Lehigh County. This tool is free and updated daily. It does not include people held at the county jail. For county-level recent arrests in Lehigh County, use the jail's inmate lookup, the UJS portal, or contact the Sheriff's Office.
Note: UJS docket sheets should not replace a formal criminal history check from the Pennsylvania State Police PATCH system.
Lehigh County Criminal History Checks
The Pennsylvania State Police run the PATCH system for criminal history searches. PATCH stands for Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History. It costs $22 per check. Results come back right away about 85% of the time when there is no match. If the system finds a possible match, the request goes under review for up to two weeks.
PATCH checks pull from the central repository that the State Police maintain under 18 Pa.C.S. Section 9101. This includes arrest data from Lehigh County and all other counties in the state. Fingerprints from every arrest must be sent to this repository within 48 hours per Section 9112. Dispositions must follow within 90 days under Section 9113. This means recent arrests in Lehigh County flow into the statewide database on a set schedule.
Lehigh County Arrest Records Access
Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law gives the public broad access to government records. This includes arrest records from Lehigh County. The law is found at 65 P.S. Section 67.101. All records are presumed public unless a specific exception applies. There are 30 exceptions listed in Section 708 of the law. These cover things like victim names, social security numbers, and records from open investigations.
To request records from Lehigh County, you write to the agency that holds them. The Office of Open Records has a standard form you can use. The agency has five business days to respond. They can grant the request, deny it, or ask for a 30-day extension. If denied, you have 15 business days to file an appeal with the Office of Open Records in Harrisburg.
Standard copy fees are up to 25 cents per page for black and white copies. Lehigh County departments set their own fees within these limits. Given the county's large population, a high volume of arrest records requests are processed each year. Most arrest records are public, but some details may be redacted for legal reasons.
Note: Juvenile arrest records in Lehigh County are sealed from public access under Pennsylvania law.
Nearby Counties
Lehigh County borders several other Pennsylvania counties. If you are looking for recent arrests in a neighboring area, check the county where the arrest took place.