Susquehanna County Police Records
Susquehanna County lies in northeastern Pennsylvania along the border with New York State and holds a population of roughly 40,000 residents. The county seat, Montrose, hosts the main government offices, courthouse, and the Susquehanna County Sheriff. The county is largely rural, with natural gas industry activity adding to its economic profile in recent years. Because Susquehanna County has relatively few municipal police departments, the Pennsylvania State Police Troop R, Kingsley Barracks, provides law enforcement coverage across most of the county's townships and communities. This guide explains how to find Susquehanna County police records through the Sheriff, the Clerk of Courts, the state UJS Portal, and the PATCH criminal history system.
Susquehanna County Quick Facts
Susquehanna County Police Records Overview
Susquehanna County presents a records landscape shaped largely by its rural character and reliance on state police for primary law enforcement. With a population near 40,000 and a land area of over 800 square miles, the county has a low population density that means most policing outside Montrose and a few other communities is handled by the Pennsylvania State Police rather than local borough or township departments.
Police records in Susquehanna County originate from several sources. The Susquehanna County Sheriff's Office in Montrose handles civil process and warrant service. The Clerk of Courts maintains criminal case files from the Court of Common Pleas. The PSP Kingsley Barracks generates incident reports, arrest records, and crash reports from its patrol coverage throughout the county. A small number of municipal police departments serve specific communities.
Records held by the Sheriff and Clerk of Courts in Montrose are subject to Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law and CHRIA. Records held by PSP are state agency records accessible through PSP's records request process. Understanding which agency generated the record you need is essential before submitting a request. The UJS Portal can help you identify which court handled an associated criminal case, which in turn points toward the arresting agency.
The image below links to the Susquehanna County official website, which lists all county departments and provides contact details for offices in Montrose.
The county website is the recommended starting point for locating correct department addresses, phone numbers, and any online records request procedures currently offered.
Susquehanna County Sheriff's Office
The Susquehanna County Sheriff's Office is located at 105 Maple Street, Montrose, PA 18801. The Sheriff's Office carries out civil process service within the county, manages warrant enforcement, provides courthouse security, and handles inmate transport between the county prison and court facilities. The Sheriff's Office also maintains records related to these civil and administrative functions.
Records available through the Susquehanna County Sheriff's Office include civil execution records, sheriff's sale documentation, and warrant-related information to the extent permitted by law. Residents seeking information about active civil judgments, property sales, or warrant status may contact the Sheriff's Office directly during regular business hours, Monday through Friday.
For records beyond what is routinely available at the counter, a formal Right-to-Know request under 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104 may be required. The Sheriff's Office will identify its designated RTK officer upon request. Requests should be submitted in writing, either in person or by mail to the Montrose address, or by email if the office accepts electronic submissions.
The Susquehanna County Sheriff works closely with the PSP Kingsley Barracks and the District Attorney's office on warrant service for cases originating from PSP arrests. In a county with limited municipal police, the coordination between the Sheriff and PSP is particularly important for understanding the chain of custody and documentation for many criminal matters.
Inmate information for individuals held at the Susquehanna County Correctional Facility may be available through either the Sheriff's Office or the prison administration. Contact the relevant office in Montrose to confirm the correct point of inquiry for custody status questions.
Clerk of Courts Records
The Susquehanna County Clerk of Courts is located at the county courthouse in Montrose and is responsible for maintaining all adult criminal case files handled in the Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas. These records cover the full lifecycle of a criminal case from initial filing through final disposition, including charging documents, pleas, verdicts, sentencing records, and any post-conviction filings.
Access to criminal court records is governed by the Criminal History Record Information Act, 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9101-9183, which sets restrictions on who may receive certain types of criminal history information and under what conditions. The Clerk of Courts can provide certified copies of case documents for a fee per page. Non-certified copies are available at $0.25 per page consistent with the state standard.
The Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System Portal provides free online access to Susquehanna County court dockets. You can search by name or docket number and review publicly available records for criminal, civil, and traffic cases handled in the Court of Common Pleas and in Susquehanna County's Magisterial District Courts. The portal is available without registration and is updated on a regular basis.
Magisterial District Judges in Susquehanna County handle preliminary matters, summary offenses, traffic citations, and minor criminal charges. Their records are included in the UJS Portal search results. For certified copies or records not available through the portal, contact the relevant Magisterial District Court office or the Clerk of Courts directly.
Expunged records are not available through the UJS Portal, the Clerk of Courts, or any other public access point under Pennsylvania law. If you are seeking records of your own that you believe were expunged, consult with an attorney to verify the status of the expungement before submitting a records request.
Right-to-Know Requests in Susquehanna County
Susquehanna County residents and members of the public can request government records under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104. The county has a designated Right-to-Know officer who receives and processes formal public records requests directed to county government agencies, including the Sheriff's Office and county administrative departments. Contact the Susquehanna County offices at 105 Maple Street, Montrose, PA 18801 for current RTK officer contact information.
Under the RTKL, an agency must respond to a written records request within five business days. The response may grant access, deny access in writing citing specific legal exemptions, or invoke a 30-day extension for complex or voluminous requests. Copying fees for paper records are $0.25 per page. The requester must be notified in writing of any denial and the specific statutory exemption being claimed.
Appeals from denied Right-to-Know requests go to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records. The OOR is located at 333 Market Street, 16th Floor, Harrisburg, and can be reached by phone at 717-346-9903. The online portal at openrecords.pa.gov also allows electronic appeals and provides guidance on the appeals process. The OOR has authority to review agency denials and order the release of records if the denial was improper.
Right-to-Know requests for PSP Kingsley Barracks records go directly to the Pennsylvania State Police, not to Susquehanna County government. PSP is a state agency and handles its own RTKL requests separately through the PSP Right-to-Know process. This distinction matters in Susquehanna County given that PSP is the primary law enforcement agency for most of the county's area.
Certain records are exempt from release under the RTKL regardless of which agency holds them. Active criminal investigation records, certain juvenile files, personal identifying information protected under CHRIA, and records whose release would jeopardize public safety are among the common exemptions. The RTK officer will explain applicable exemptions in writing when a request is denied.
Pennsylvania State Police Coverage in Susquehanna County
The Pennsylvania State Police Troop R, Kingsley Barracks, provides primary law enforcement coverage for most of Susquehanna County. Because the county has relatively few municipal police departments, PSP handles a substantial portion of the criminal investigations, arrests, and traffic enforcement that generate police records in the county. The Kingsley Barracks covers Susquehanna County and portions of adjoining counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.
PSP incident reports from the Kingsley Barracks are state agency records. Requests for these reports go through the PSP records request process, available through the Pennsylvania government website. You can also submit a formal Right-to-Know request directly to the Pennsylvania State Police for incident reports, crash reports, and other records generated by PSP troopers.
Vehicle crash reports handled by PSP carry a $22 fee and can be ordered through the crash report request page on the Pennsylvania government website. Crash reports are among the most frequently requested PSP records and can be obtained by parties to the crash, their attorneys, or insurance carriers under applicable law.
PSP does not release records for active criminal investigations. If you are requesting records related to a matter that is still under investigation, the request may be denied in whole or in part until the investigation concludes. Contact the Kingsley Barracks directly for questions about the status of specific cases before submitting a formal records request.
PSP also maintains statewide statistics on crime in Pennsylvania through participation in the Uniform Crime Reporting program. County-level crime data for Susquehanna County can be found through the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting system maintained by the Attorney General's office.
PATCH System for Susquehanna County Criminal History
The Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History (PATCH) system is the primary tool for obtaining statewide criminal background information in Pennsylvania, including records from Susquehanna County. PATCH is administered by the Pennsylvania State Police and charges a $22 fee per search request. The system compiles conviction data from courts and law enforcement agencies statewide under the Criminal History Record Information Act, 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9101-9183.
To submit a PATCH request, visit the PATCH overview page on the Pennsylvania government website. Requests can be submitted online, with results typically returned quickly for most searches. The system searches by full name and date of birth and returns any Pennsylvania conviction record on file across all 67 counties.
For Susquehanna County specifically, using PATCH is highly practical because PSP is the dominant law enforcement agency and PSP-generated conviction records flow through the statewide system. A single PATCH search covers arrests and convictions handled by PSP Kingsley as well as any municipal police departments in the county, making it more efficient than trying to contact individual agencies separately.
PATCH returns conviction records only. It does not include arrests that did not lead to conviction, charges that were withdrawn or nolle prossed, juvenile adjudications, pending cases, or records from other states or federal courts. For a complete picture of an individual's history, additional searches through the UJS Portal, federal systems, or other state repositories may be necessary depending on the purpose of the inquiry.
Self-check requests through PATCH allow individuals to review their own criminal history record before applying for jobs, licenses, or other purposes that require background clearances under Pennsylvania law. This is especially relevant for people required to obtain clearances under the Child Protective Services Law or other regulatory frameworks.
Megan's Law Sex Offender Registry
Pennsylvania's Megan's Law sex offender registry is administered by the Pennsylvania State Police and is publicly accessible online. You can search for registered sex offenders in Susquehanna County through the Pennsylvania Megan's Law website. The search interface allows you to look up offenders by name, municipality, zip code, or county, and results include the offender's registered address, photograph when available, and offense information.
Registered sex offenders residing in Susquehanna County report to the PSP Kingsley Barracks for registration and periodic verification. Pennsylvania's sex offender registration law classifies offenders into three tiers based on the nature of their offense. Tier I offenders have the least restrictive registration requirements, while Tier III offenders face lifetime registration and more extensive community notification requirements.
The Megan's Law website reflects each offender's most recently reported address. Addresses are updated when offenders report address changes to PSP as required by law. If you believe a registered offender in Susquehanna County has failed to update their registered address, you can report that concern to PSP Kingsley Barracks or through the Megan's Law website's tip reporting function.
Pennsylvania's sex offender registration law was significantly updated by Act 111 of 2011, which implemented a tiered classification system consistent with the federal SORNA requirements. The law applies to individuals convicted of qualifying offenses on or after December 20, 2012, as well as those who were previously required to register under earlier versions of the law. Questions about specific registration requirements should be directed to PSP or a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.
Nearby Counties
Susquehanna County borders several Pennsylvania counties as well as New York State to the north. If the records you need involve activity near county lines, the following neighboring counties may also hold relevant information.