Reviewed and updated October 9, 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 on September 23, 2026.
Surry County, North Carolina, has about 72,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Surry County Sheriff's Office, four city agencies and one state agency. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Surry County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Surry County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Surry County
The Surry County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Surry County. It reported 1,105 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Mount Airy, 10,583 residents: 572 arrests reported for 2025.
- Elkin, 4,094 residents: 259 arrests reported for 2025.
- Dobson, 1,469 residents: 66 arrests reported for 2025.
- Pilot Mountain, 1,430 residents: 28 arrests reported for 2025.
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 one more agency in Surry County: the State Park Rangers at Pilot Mountain (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Surry County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Surry County Sheriff's Office: 1,105 for 2025, 1,022 for 2024, 1,239 for 2023, 1,682 for 2022, 1,857 for 2021 and 1,476 for 2020.
- Mount Airy: 572 for 2025, 445 for 2024, 424 for 2023, 785 for 2022 and 737 for 2021.
- Elkin: 259 for 2025, 184 for 2024, 158 for 2023, 197 for 2022, 289 for 2021 and 208 for 2020.
- Dobson: 66 for 2025, 99 for 2024, 185 for 2023, 328 for 2022, 380 for 2021 and 193 for 2020.
- Pilot Mountain: 28 for 2025, 46 for 2024, 81 for 2023, 99 for 2022, 105 for 2021 and 78 for 2020.
Together, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,030 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,030 in 2025 against 1,796 in 2024, up 13 percent.
Through July 2026, the five agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,136 arrests, against 1,192 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Surry County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Surry County 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 2024 the jail held about 250 people, up from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 125 beds, and it ran at 132 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 Surry County Sheriff's Office at co.surry.nc.us/sheriff_office/index.php (page title: Surry County Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt), phone (336) 401-8900, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction lists its inmates at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Surry County
For Surry County the place to look is the case index of the Surry County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at nccourts.gov/locations/surry-county).
Statewide, eCourts Portal is the North Carolina Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
North Carolina does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation 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 Surry 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 North Carolina Public Records Act the agency must answer as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Surry County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (336) 401-8900.
- An arrest in Mount Airy, Elkin, Dobson or Pilot Mountain: 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 the State Park Rangers at Pilot Mountain: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Surry County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/surry-county.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at surrycountync.nextrequest.com (page title: Open Public RecordsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Surry County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Surry County: Mount Airy, Elkin, Dobson and Pilot Mountain.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Surry County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Surry County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Mount Airy (10,583)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Surry County each year?
The Surry County Sheriff's Office reported 1,105 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the five agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,030 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Surry County?
Ask the Surry County Sheriff's Office at (336) 401-8900; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.surry.nc.us/sheriff_office/index.php.
Where are people arrested in Surry County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Surry County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Surry County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Surry County Superior Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the North Carolina Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Surry County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Surry County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the answer is due as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at surrycountync.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official Surry 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.