Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 23, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Virginia, Minnesota, in St. Louis County, has about 8,300 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the County Attorney files charges, a case in the St. Louis County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Virginia public records, St. Louis County arrest records, Minnesota arrest records and Minnesota inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Virginia
The FBI lists Virginia with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Virginia Police Department. It reported 362 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 675 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in St. Louis County: the University of Minnesota at Duluth (campus police); the State Patrol at Virginia and the State Patrol at Duluth (state police).
How Many Arrests Virginia Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Virginia: 362 for 2025, 486 for 2024, 454 for 2023 and 798 for 2019; 2020, 2021 and 2022 are missing months.
Virginia's 362 arrests in 2025 were down 26 percent from 486 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Virginia reported 183 arrests, against 248 in the same months of 2025.
Across St. Louis County, the 13 agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,143 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Virginia Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Virginia is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 95 people, down from about 260 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 144 beds, and it ran at 66 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office at stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/sheriff/jail/jail-roster (page title: Jail Roster), phone 218-625-3581, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Virginia
Whether someone was arrested in Virginia, and what came of it, shows up in three places: the custody page of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the St. Louis County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/CaseSearch, phone (651) 793-2400); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/attorney/about-the-county-attor..., phone 218-726-2323).
Statewide, Minnesota Court Records Online is the Minnesota Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
Minnesota is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the public criminal history search online is free and shows 15 years of convictions, through the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Virginia
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act the agency must answer promptly, within a reasonable time, and it may charge copying, and staff time for requests over 100 pages.
- An arrest by the Virginia police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at virginiamn.us/department/police_department/index.php (page title: Virginia MN Police Department), phone 218-748-7510, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 218-625-3581.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 218-726-2323, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the St. Louis County District Court, through the court records page at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/CaseSearch, phone (651) 793-2400.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The St. Louis County guide covers every agency in the county: St. Louis County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Virginia each year?
Virginia reported 362 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Virginia?
Look on the custody page of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office at stlouiscountymn.gov, or call 218-625-3581. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Virginia booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Virginia?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension: the public criminal history search online is free and shows 15 years of convictions. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Virginia?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Virginia police for its own arrests, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act the answer is due promptly, within a reasonable time.
Is this the official Virginia 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.