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 between September 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Amherst County, Virginia, has about 32,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Amherst County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the Amherst Circuit 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: Amherst County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Amherst County
The Amherst County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Amherst County. It reported 458 arrests for 2025.
One city in Amherst County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Amherst, 2,128 residents: 20 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 Amherst County: the Amherst County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Amherst 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.
- Amherst County Sheriff's Office: 458 for 2025, 343 for 2024, 366 for 2023, 430 for 2022, 398 for 2021 and 308 for 2020.
- Amherst: 20 for 2025, 5 for 2024, 25 for 2023, 27 for 2022, 31 for 2021 and 20 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 478 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 478 in 2025 against 348 in 2024, up 37 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 272 arrests, against 256 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Amherst County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Amherst County 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 400 people, up from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 146 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 Amherst County Sheriff's Office at countyofamherst.com/department/index.php?structureid=27 (page title: Sheriff's Office | Amherst County, Virginia), phone (434) 946-9381, 115 Taylor St P.O. Box 410, Amherst, VA 24521, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Amherst County
For Amherst County the place to look is the case index of the Amherst Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at countyofamherst.com/department/division.php?structureid=58, phone (434) 946-9321).
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 Amherst 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 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 Amherst County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (434) 946-9381.
- An arrest in Amherst: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Amherst County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Amherst Circuit Court, through the court records page at countyofamherst.com, phone (434) 946-9321.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at countyofamherst.com (page title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) | Amherst County, Virginia).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange; a check on someone else needs their signed consent.
Cities in Amherst County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Amherst, the one city in Amherst County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Amherst Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Amherst County each year?
The Amherst County Sheriff's Office reported 458 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 478 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Amherst County?
Ask the Amherst County Sheriff's Office at (434) 946-9381; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at countyofamherst.com.
Where are people arrested in Amherst County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Amherst County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Amherst County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Amherst 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 Amherst County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Amherst County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 working days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at countyofamherst.com.
Is this the official Amherst 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.