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.
Vance County, North Carolina, has about 42,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Vance County is held at the county jail, run by the Vance County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. 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: Vance County public records, Vance County arrest records, Vance County warrants, Vance County criminal records, Vance County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Vance County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Vance County is held at the county jail, run by the Vance County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Vance County Sheriff's Office at vancecountysheriff.org/detention-center (page title: DETENTION CENTER | vancecountysheriff), phone 252-438-3923, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 252-438-3923.
The Vance County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 170 people, up from about 150 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Vance County has about 42,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 39 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Vance County Jail
The Vance County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Henderson make the arrests that end in a booking in Vance County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Vance County: the State Park Rangers at Kerr Lake (state agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Vance County Sheriff's Office's 907 for 2025 and Henderson's 833 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Vance County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,740 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Vance County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction lists its inmates at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Vance County?
Ask the Vance County Sheriff's Office at 252-438-3923; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at vancecountysheriff.org/detention-center.
How many people are in the Vance County jail?
About 170 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
What is the phone number for the Vance County jail?
252-438-3923, the number on the page of the Vance County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Vance County go?
To a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; its inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov.
Is this the official Vance 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.