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 October 4, 2026.
Chesterfield County, Virginia, has about 390,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Chesterfield County Police Department 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 Chesterfield 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: Chesterfield County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Chesterfield County
The Chesterfield County Police Department is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Chesterfield County. It reported 7,272 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Chesterfield County: the Chesterfield County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests The Chesterfield County Police Department Reports
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.
- Chesterfield County Police Department: 7,272 for 2025, 7,391 for 2024, 7,287 for 2023, 7,846 for 2022, 8,862 for 2021 and 9,222 for 2020.
The Chesterfield County Police Department's 7,272 arrests in 2025 were down 1.6 percent from 7,391 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Chesterfield County Police Department reported 3,481 arrests, against 4,438 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Chesterfield County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Chesterfield County is held at the county 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 2025 the jail held about 350 people, down from about 1,170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,209 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 Chesterfield County Police Department at chesterfield.gov/765/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff's Office | Chesterfield County, VA), phone 804-748-1261, 9500 Courthouse Road Chesterfield, VA 23832, Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Chesterfield County
An arrest in Chesterfield County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: Online Case Information System, the Virginia courts' free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed; the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at chesterfield.gov/1135/Commonwealths-Attorney, phone 804-748-1221).
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 Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County Police Department: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 804-748-1261.
- An arrest by the Chesterfield 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, 804-748-1221, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at chesterfield.gov (page title: Freedom of Information Act Requests | Chesterfield County, VA).
- 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 Chesterfield County each year?
The Chesterfield County Police Department reported 7,272 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Chesterfield County?
Ask the Chesterfield County Police Department at 804-748-1261; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at chesterfield.gov/765/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Chesterfield County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Chesterfield County Police Department; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Chesterfield County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Chesterfield County Police Department 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 chesterfield.gov.
Is this the official Chesterfield 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.