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 28, 2026.
South Boston, Virginia, in Halifax County, has about 7,800 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 Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the Halifax Circuit 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: South Boston public records, Halifax County arrest records, Virginia arrest records and Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in South Boston
The FBI lists South Boston with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as South Boston Police Department. It reported 347 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 Halifax County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 569 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Halifax County: the Halifax County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests South Boston 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.
- South Boston: 347 for 2025, 385 for 2024, 374 for 2023, 254 for 2022, 283 for 2020 and 395 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
South Boston's 347 arrests in 2025 were down 9.9 percent from 385 in 2024.
Through July 2026, South Boston reported 192 arrests, against 226 in the same months of 2025.
Across Halifax County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 925 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in South Boston Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in South Boston and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 110 people, down from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 145 beds, and it ran at 43 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 Halifax County Sheriff's Office at halifaxcountyva.gov/199/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Halifax County, VA), phone 434-476-3339, 134 S Main Street Halifax, VA 24558, Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Virginia Department of Corrections lists its inmates at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in South Boston
An arrest in South Boston can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Halifax Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at vacourts.gov/courts/gd/halifax/home, phone (434) 476-3385); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at halifaxcountyva.gov/178/Commonwealth-Attorney, phone 434-476-2139).
Statewide, Online Case Information System is the Virginia courts' free statewide case search.
Virginia does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the 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 South Boston
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 working days, and it may charge the actual cost of searching and copying.
- An arrest by the South Boston police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at southboston.com/departments/police/index.php (page title: South Boston Police Department), phone (434)575-4273, 640 Hamilton Blvd, South Boston, VA 24592, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Halifax County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 434-476-3339.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Commonwealth's Attorney, 434-476-2139, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Halifax Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/courts/gd/halifax/home, phone (434) 476-3385.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at halifaxcountyva.gov (page title: The Rights of Requesters and Responsibilities of Halifax ...).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange; a check on someone else needs their signed consent.
The Halifax County guide covers every agency in the county: Halifax County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in South Boston each year?
South Boston reported 347 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in South Boston?
Ask the Halifax County Sheriff's Office at 434-476-3339; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at halifaxcountyva.gov/199/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in South Boston booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Halifax County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in South Boston?
The court files of criminal cases in the Halifax Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the 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 Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in South Boston?
From the agency that made the arrest: the South Boston police for its own arrests, the Halifax County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 working days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at halifaxcountyva.gov.
Is this the official South Boston 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.