Find Reading Booking Reports
Reading booking reports are produced after every arrest in the city. Reading is the county seat of Berks County and sits along the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania. Arrests made by Reading police lead to booking at the Berks County Prison or the Reading Central Jail. Court records for these cases go through the Berks County court system. This page covers how booking reports work in Reading and where to search for them.
Reading Quick Facts
Reading Arrest and Booking Process
Reading police make arrests within city limits and bring people to the station at 815 Washington Street. Initial processing happens there. Those held on charges move to the Berks County Prison for full booking. Staff take fingerprints, a photo, and record the charges. The booking report gets filed at that point and enters the county record system.
The Reading Central Jail also serves as a holding point for some arrests. Which facility a person goes to depends on the charge and available space. Both feed into the Berks County system for tracking booking reports. Municipal court handles preliminary hearings for Reading cases before they move to the Court of Common Pleas.
Because Reading is the county seat, the Berks County courthouse is right in the city. This makes it easy to access court records tied to booking reports. The courthouse handles all criminal cases from Reading and the rest of Berks County.
Search Reading Booking Reports Online
The UJS Portal at ujsportal.pacourts.us covers court records for Reading and all of Berks County. Search by name or docket number. The portal shows charges, court dates, and case outcomes. It is free and open to anyone.
VINELink at vinelink.com tracks custody status for people booked into the Berks County Prison. Register for alerts to get updates when a person's status changes. This works for all Reading arrests that result in county detention.
The state image below shows the UJS Portal search tool used to find court records tied to booking reports across Pennsylvania.
Use this portal to pull up docket sheets for any Reading arrest filed in Berks County courts.
For records not available online, you can file a request under the Right-to-Know Law. Under 65 P.S. § 67.301, many government records are public. Submit a written request to the Reading Police Department or Berks County. The agency has five business days to respond.
Note: Reading is the county seat of Berks County, so the courthouse and jail are both within city limits.
Pennsylvania Law and Reading Booking Reports
State law controls how Reading booking reports are handled. The Criminal History Record Information Act at 18 Pa.C.S. § 9101 defines criminal history data. It sets the rules for how agencies collect, store, and share this information. Reading police and Berks County follow these guidelines.
Expungement may apply to some Reading booking reports. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122, a person can ask a court to seal or destroy certain records. Cases that ended without a conviction are most likely to qualify. Act 5 of 2019 added new categories. A Berks County judge reviews and decides each petition.
Juvenile records from Reading have extra protections under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6308. These booking reports are kept apart from adult files. Access is limited to authorized parties. Standard public search tools do not show juvenile records.
What Reading Booking Reports Include
A booking report from a Reading arrest lists the person's name, date of birth, and physical details. Charges and the arresting officer appear on the report. The bail amount, court date, and assigned facility are also recorded. Once the case enters court, the booking report links to the docket sheet.
An arrest does not equal a conviction. Booking reports record that police made an arrest. The court docket shows what happened next. Charges may be dropped or reduced. Always check both the booking report and the court outcome when reviewing a Reading case.
Reading Booking Reports and Berks County
Reading is the largest city in Berks County and produces a significant share of the county's booking reports. The city has a population of about 95,000 people and sits along the Schuylkill River. Its role as the county seat means the courthouse, jail, and police department are all close together. This makes the process from arrest to hearing relatively fast.
The Berks County Prison and the Reading Central Jail both handle people arrested in the city. Which facility a person ends up in depends on the charge level and available space. Serious felonies usually go straight to the county prison. Less severe charges may start at the city jail. Either way, the booking report enters the Berks County system and becomes searchable through the same tools.
Reading shares the Berks County record system with many smaller towns. Arrests from Wyomissing, West Reading, and other nearby communities end up in the same database. A search through the UJS Portal for Berks County will cover Reading and all surrounding areas. This centralized system makes it simpler to find booking reports without having to check multiple agencies.
The Reading Police Department responds to calls across the city around the clock. Officers handle everything from traffic stops to serious crimes. Each arrest that leads to charges creates a booking report. These reports are the starting point of the criminal case and remain part of the record unless a court orders expungement.
Reading Police Department Contacts
| Department | Reading Police Department |
|---|---|
| Address | 815 Washington Street, Reading, PA 19601 |
| Phone | (610) 655-6116 |
| Jail | Berks County Prison |
Call Reading police for questions about recent arrests. For jail status or booking details, contact the Berks County Prison. Court record questions go through the Berks County Clerk of Courts or the UJS Portal.
Note: The Berks County Prison holds people from all parts of the county, not just Reading.
Berks County Booking Reports
Reading is the county seat of Berks County. The county prison and court system process all booking reports from Reading arrests. For full details on the county jail, inmate search, and court process, visit the Berks County booking reports page.
Nearby Pennsylvania Cities
Nearby cities process booking reports through their own county systems. Pick a city below to find arrest and booking information for that area.