Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Kanawha County, West Virginia, has about 174,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, 14 city agencies and 12 campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the booking at the regional jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Kanawha County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Kanawha County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Kanawha County
The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Kanawha County.
The FBI lists 14 cities in Kanawha County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported, the largest twelve first; the rest are in the cities section below:
- Charleston, 46,482 residents.
- South Charleston, 13,177 residents.
- St. Albans, 10,301 residents.
- Dunbar, 7,111 residents.
- Nitro, 6,366 residents.
- Marmet, 1,423 residents.
- Chesapeake, 1,281 residents.
- Belle, 1,097 residents.
- Clendenin, 866 residents.
- East Bank, 781 residents.
- Glasgow, 687 residents.
- Cedar Grove, 685 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Kanawha County: Bridge Valley Technical College and West Virginia State University (campus police); Department of Natural Resources: Headquarters, Department of Natural Resources: Kanawha County, State Fire Marshal: Kanawha County and Capitol Protective Services (state agency); Kanawha County Parks and Recreation and Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (other); State Police: Bureau of Criminal Investigation Academy, State Police, Parkway Authority: Kanawha County, State Police: South Charleston and State Police: Quincy (state police).
Booking: Where People Arrested in Kanawha County Are Held
West Virginia closed its county jails in favor of regional jails run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, so a person held after an arrest in Kanawha County goes to the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 430 people, down from about 500 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 398 beds, and it ran at 107 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office at kanawhasheriff.us (page title: Kanawha County Sheriff's Office | Charleston, West Virginia), phone 304-357-0216, 301 Virginia Street East, Charleston, WV 25301, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Kanawha County
Whether someone was arrested in Kanawha County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Kanawha County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at kanawhacounty.westvirginiacourt.us/court-records.html, phone 304-357-0440); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at kanawha.us/prosecuting-attorney, phone (304) 357-0300).
West Virginia does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the West Virginia State Police goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Kanawha County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-357-0216.
- An arrest in Charleston, South Charleston, St. Albans, Dunbar, Nitro or Marmet or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Bridge Valley Technical College, Department of Natural Resources: Headquarters or West Virginia State University: that agency's own records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 357-0300, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Kanawha County Circuit Court, through its records page at kanawhacounty.westvirginiacourt.us, phone 304-357-0440.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Kanawha County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the 14 cities in Kanawha County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, the booking is at the regional jail and the case goes to the Kanawha County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Kanawha County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population:
- Charleston (46,482)
- St. Albans (10,301)
- Dunbar (7,111)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Kanawha County?
Ask the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office at 304-357-0216; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at kanawhasheriff.us.
Where are people arrested in Kanawha County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Kanawha County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Kanawha County Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the West Virginia State Police is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Kanawha County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official Kanawha County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.