Bristol County
50,001 people, served by 3 police agencies that report to the FBI.
How a case moves here
Bristol County follows Rhode Island law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.
- Who decides release first
When court is in session, a District Court judge sets bail. When it is closed, a bail commissioner, a lawyer appointed by the Chief Judge of the District Court, holds a bail hearing at the police station. Bail commissioners can't set bail for offenses punishable by life.
R.I. Gen. Laws 12-10-2- Time to see a judge
The court rules say a person arrested without a warrant must be taken before a District Court judge without unnecessary delay, and set no hour limit. The U.S. Supreme Court's 48-hour rule for a probable cause finding applies as the federal floor.
R.I. Dist. Ct. R. Crim. P. 5(a)- Money bail
Money bail is allowed. The state constitution gives a right to bail by sufficient surety, except for offenses punishable by life and a few listed weapons and drug offenses.
R.I. Const. art. I, s. 9- Courts
The Superior Court has original jurisdiction over all felonies. The District Court tries misdemeanors carrying up to one year, and most felonies are first arraigned there, where bail is set.
Rhode Island Superior CourtRhode Island District Court- Judges and magistrates
A nonpartisan judicial nominating commission sends the governor a list, and the governor appoints a judge from it with the state Senate's consent. Judges serve without a fixed term.
R.I. Const. art. X, s. 4
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. That Rhode Island judges have no fixed term rests on the constitution and general knowledge; we read only the appointment clause. Whether District Court judges must be lawyers, and domestic violence limits on bail commissioners, were not confirmed.
What this county does differently
Nothing county-specific yet
Cities and towns
- Bristol town22,220
- Barrington town17,126
- Warren town11,144
Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Bristol County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.
Police agencies
- Bristol Police DepartmentCity police department21,874 served
- Barrington Police DepartmentCity police department16,967 served
- Warren Police DepartmentCity police department11,065 served
Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.
Crime
The crime index
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Per 100k | Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 46 | 45 | 26 | 32 | 35 | 73 | 168 |
| Murder | 2 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 2.3 | |||
| Rape | 12 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 36 |
| Robbery | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 23 | |
| Aggravated assault | 28 | 36 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 52 | 107 |
| Property crime | 285 | 255 | 240 | 252 | 194 | 487 | 1,116 |
| Burglary | 28 | 40 | 30 | 23 | 18 | 55 | 114 |
| Larceny | 246 | 198 | 190 | 216 | 164 | 403 | 867 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 11 | 17 | 20 | 13 | 12 | 29 | 135 |
| Arson | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 7.9 |
Outside the crime index
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Per 100k | Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All offenses outside the crime index | 623 | 691 | 691 | 628 | 544 | 1,262 | 1,936 |
| Simple assault and intimidation | 214 | 233 | 253 | 225 | 176 | 437 | 681 |
| Vandalism | 178 | 191 | 171 | 168 | 149 | 340 | 501 |
| Fraud | 106 | 143 | 148 | 142 | 132 | 266 | 320 |
| Drug abuse violations | 60 | 51 | 37 | 25 | 27 | 79 | 183 |
| Weapons: carrying, possessing, etc. | 17 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 13 | 37 | 80 |
| Stolen property: buying, receiving, possessing | 10 | 5 | 11 | 9 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 34 | |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 25 | 52 |
| Embezzlement | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 11 |
| Sex offenses (except rape and prostitution) | 14 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 26 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 1 | 1 | Too few for a rate: the count is under 20. | 1.8 | |||
| Other Group A offenses | 9 | 16 | 25 | 16 | 27 | 37 | 46 |
Offenses agencies in Bristol County reported to the FBI in incident detail (NIBRS), each year, the second table by the arrest class each offense falls in. Per 100k: offenses per 100,000 people the reporting agencies police, 2021 to 2025 added together, beside Rhode Island's rate over the same years. Agencies that reported part of a year are counted with their people, as the state's rates count them. – means too few for a rate: the count is under 20.
Source: FBI NIBRS national master files, each agency's offenses and the FBI's population for it. Rhode Island: the crime index: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CrimeDB's chosen value per year (the state page's figures); outside it: FBI NIBRS, agencies that sent incident detail.