Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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.
Charleston, West Virginia, in Kanawha County, has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person held after an arrest in Charleston is at the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, and the state's inmate search covers every regional jail. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Charleston public records, Kanawha County public records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Charleston
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 Charleston is at the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
That search is at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
Kanawha County in the Regional Jail: The Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the regional jail held about 430 people from Kanawha County, down from about 500 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Kanawha County has about 174,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so about 25 of every 10,000 of them are in the regional jail on an average day.
Who Books People
The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Charleston (filed by the FBI as Charleston Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Charleston.
The FBI's agency list also places two campus police departments, four state agencies, two other agencies and four state police units in Kanawha County.
The Montgomery Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Kanawha County, so its arrests are not broken out for Kanawha County here.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Kanawha County serves the sentence in a facility of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Charleston?
Through the state's inmate search at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx, which covers every regional jail; the page of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified is at kanawhasheriff.us.
How many people from Kanawha County are in the regional jail?
About 430 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Kanawha County go?
To a facility of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation; its inmate locator is at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
Is this the official Charleston website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.