Kings County Busted Mugshots
Kings County busted mugshots and arrest records come from one of the busiest court systems in the United States. Kings County is coextensive with Brooklyn, the most populous borough of New York City. Arrests here are processed through the NYPD, the Kings County Criminal Court at 120 Schermerhorn Street, and the Supreme Court Criminal Term at 320 Jay Street. The Brooklyn District Attorney's office prosecutes cases and maintains case files. This page explains where to find Kings County arrest records, how the courts work, and what databases are available for public searches.
Kings County Arrest Records at a Glance
Kings County Criminal Court Records
The Kings County Criminal Court handles misdemeanor and violation-level cases. It sits at 120 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. The phone number is 347-404-9409. When someone is arrested in Brooklyn, they are brought to central booking and then arraigned at this courthouse. The arraignment creates the first court record in the case. That record shows the charges, bail status, and next court date.
Misdemeanor cases stay in Criminal Court from start to finish. The court clerk maintains files for every case. You can request copies of court documents by visiting the clerk's office in person. Bring the defendant's name, date of birth, or case number to speed up the search. The clerk can pull up case information and provide copies for a fee. Standard copy costs apply under the Unified Court System's fee schedule.
Criminal Court also handles preliminary hearings for felony cases. A felony arrest starts here before it moves to Supreme Court. The hearing determines whether enough evidence exists to send the case to a grand jury. Records from these hearings stay with the Criminal Court clerk unless the case is transferred up.
Arraignment happens within 24 hours of arrest in most cases. That is a legal requirement under CPL §140.20. The arraignment record is public unless the case is later sealed. You can check the court calendar to see upcoming arraignments as well.
Kings County Supreme Court Busted Mugshots
The Supreme Court Criminal Term at 320 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 handles all felony cases in Kings County. The phone number is 347-296-1076. After a grand jury indicts someone, the case moves here. Supreme Court records include indictments, motions, trial transcripts, and sentencing documents. These are the more serious cases, and the records tend to be more detailed.
Felony cases in Kings County can take months or even years to resolve. During that time, the court file grows with each motion, hearing, and conference. You can track a case through the WebCrims system, which shows pending case status for both Criminal Court and Supreme Court cases. It gives you the case number, charges, and scheduled court dates. It does not display mugshots or booking photos, but the case number helps when you request detailed records from the clerk.
Grand jury proceedings that lead to indictments in Kings County are sealed until the defendant is arraigned on the indictment. Under CPL §190.25, everything that happens in the grand jury room is secret. Once the indictment is filed and the defendant appears in court, the charges become part of the public record. The grand jury minutes themselves typically remain sealed unless a court orders disclosure.
Brooklyn District Attorney Arrest Records
The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office prosecutes criminal cases in Kings County. The DA's office keeps its own files on every case it handles. These files include police reports, witness statements, lab results, and correspondence. Not all of this material is public. Much of it falls under the work product doctrine or is protected by other legal privileges.
Here is the Brooklyn District Attorney's website, which provides information about the office and its programs.
The DA's site has information on current initiatives, press releases about major cases, and resources for crime victims.
You can contact the DA's office to ask about the status of a case. They may confirm whether charges have been filed and what the current status is. For detailed case records, you would go through the court clerk or file a FOIL request. The DA's office is subject to FOIL like any other government agency, but many prosecution files are exempt from disclosure due to ongoing investigations or legal privilege.
The Brooklyn DA also runs conviction review and diversion programs. If a conviction is overturned through the conviction review unit, the original arrest record remains but the court record reflects the changed outcome. Diversion records may be sealed if the participant completes the program successfully.
Kings County Jail and Inmate Lookup
Kings County does not have its own county jail. Pretrial detainees and sentenced inmates in Brooklyn go through the New York City Department of Correction system. The NYC DOC operates Rikers Island and several borough-based facilities. Anyone arrested in Kings County who cannot make bail ends up in the DOC system.
The NYC DOC runs an inmate lookup tool on its website. You can search by name or booking number to find out if someone is in custody. The system shows the facility location, charges, bail amount, and next court date. This is the fastest way to check on someone who was recently arrested in Brooklyn. The lookup covers all NYC DOC facilities, not just those housing Kings County inmates.
For people who receive state prison sentences, the DOCCS Incarcerated Individual Lookup is the right tool. DOCCS manages state prisons, not city jails. If someone arrested in Kings County gets sentenced to more than one year, they transfer from DOC to DOCCS. Their record then appears in the state system. You can search by name or DIN number for free.
How to Request Kings County Busted Mugshots
Filing a FOIL request is the formal way to obtain arrest records from Kings County agencies. You write to the Records Access Officer at the relevant agency. For NYPD arrest reports, the request goes to the NYPD's Records Access Officer at One Police Plaza. For court records, you contact the court clerk. Each agency handles its own records separately.
The agency must respond within five business days. They can grant the request, deny it, or take up to 20 more business days if they need extra time. Copies cost $0.25 per page. If the records are already in digital form, the agency may provide them electronically at no charge. Be specific in your request. The more detail you give (names, dates, case numbers), the faster the search goes.
Sealed records are off limits. Under CPL §160.50, cases that end in dismissal or acquittal get sealed automatically. The 2019 discovery reform laws also changed how much information prosecutors must share with defense attorneys, but those rules apply to the litigation process, not to public FOIL requests. If your request is denied, you can appeal to the agency head and then to the Committee on Open Government.
State Resources for Kings County Arrest Records
Several state-level databases cover Kings County arrest records. The New York Sex Offender Registry lets you search for registered sex offenders in Kings County by name, county, or zip code. The registry shows photos, conviction details, and registered addresses. It is maintained by the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
The DCJS criminal history record review lets individuals check their own rap sheet. This is a fingerprint-based search that costs $95. It is not available to the general public. Only the person whose record it is, or their attorney, can use this service. The review shows all arrests and dispositions on file with DCJS.
Kings County is part of the 2nd Judicial Department for appellate purposes. Appeals from Supreme Court criminal cases go to the Appellate Division, Second Department in Brooklyn. Appellate decisions are public and often available on the court system's website. These decisions can provide detailed information about the original arrest, trial, and sentencing in Kings County cases.
Cities in Kings County
Kings County is coextensive with the borough of Brooklyn, which is part of New York City. Arrest records here are handled through the NYPD and the Kings County court system rather than a separate city police department.