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 24, 2026.
Charles City, Virginia, has about 6,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Charles City County Sheriff's Office 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 city jail, and, if the Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the Charles City 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Charles City public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Charles City
The Charles City County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Charles City. It reported 63 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Charles City: the Charles City County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests The Charles City County Sheriff's Office 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.
- Charles City County Sheriff's Office: 63 for 2025, 40 for 2024, 28 for 2023, 44 for 2022, 28 for 2021 and 48 for 2020.
The Charles City County Sheriff's Office's 63 arrests in 2025 were up 58 percent from 40 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Charles City County Sheriff's Office reported 39 arrests, against 35 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Charles City Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Charles City is held at the city 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 18 people, down from about 21 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 20 beds, and it ran at 85 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 Charles City County Sheriff's Office at charlescityva.us/187/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Charles City County, VA), phone 804-829-9265, 10780 Courthouse Road Charles City, VA 23030, Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., 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 Charles City
Whether someone was arrested in Charles City, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Charles City Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at charlescityva.us/216/Clerk-Circuit-Court, phone 804-652-2105); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at charlescityva.us/153/The-Commonwealths-Attorney, phone 804-652-2178).
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 Charles City
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 Charles City County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 804-829-9265.
- An arrest by the Charles City 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, 804-652-2178, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Charles City Circuit Court, through the court records page at charlescityva.us/216/Clerk-Circuit-Court, phone 804-652-2105.
- Any city record that is not posted: the city records request page SearchSystems verified is at charlescityva.us (page title: Requests for Public Records).
- Your own statewide record: a request to the State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange; a check on someone else needs their signed consent.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Charles City each year?
The Charles City County Sheriff's Office reported 63 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Charles City?
Ask the Charles City County Sheriff's Office at 804-829-9265; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at charlescityva.us/187/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in Charles City booked?
Those kept in custody go to the city jail, run by the Charles City County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Charles City?
The court files of criminal cases in the Charles City 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 Charles City?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Charles City 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 city records request page SearchSystems verified is at charlescityva.us.
Is this the official Charles City website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.