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.
Bedford County, Virginia, has about 82,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Bedford 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 Bedford 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: Bedford County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Bedford County
The Bedford County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Bedford County. It reported 1,339 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Bedford County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Bedford, 7,823 residents: 237 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 Bedford County: the Bedford County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Bedford County
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.
- Bedford County Sheriff's Office: 1,339 for 2025, 1,141 for 2024, 996 for 2023, 858 for 2022, 520 for 2021 and 557 for 2020.
- Bedford: 237 for 2025, 306 for 2024, 395 for 2023, 403 for 2022, 309 for 2020 and 421 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,576 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,576 in 2025 against 1,447 in 2024, up 8.9 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 859 arrests, against 953 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Bedford County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Bedford 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 1 people, down from about 84 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.bedfordcountyva.gov/divisions/services (page title: Services | County of Bedford, Virginia), phone 540-586-4800, 1345 Falling Creek Road Bedford, VA 24523, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Virginia Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Bedford County
An arrest in Bedford County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Bedford 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/bedford/home, phone (540) 586-7637); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at bedfordcountyva.gov/government/departments-offices-a-d/commonwealth..., phone (540) 586-7628).
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 Bedford 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 Bedford County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 540-586-4800.
- An arrest in Bedford: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Bedford County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Commonwealth's Attorney, (540) 586-7628, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Bedford Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/courts/gd/bedford/home, phone (540) 586-7637.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at sheriff.bedfordcountyva.gov (page title: Make a FOIA Request | County of Bedford, 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 Bedford County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Bedford, the one city in Bedford County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Bedford Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Bedford County each year?
The Bedford County Sheriff's Office reported 1,339 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,576 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Bedford County?
Ask the Bedford County Sheriff's Office at 540-586-4800; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriff.bedfordcountyva.gov.
Where are people arrested in Bedford County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Bedford County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Bedford County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Bedford 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 Bedford County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Bedford 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 sheriff.bedfordcountyva.gov.
Is this the official Bedford 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.