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 28, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Essex County, Virginia, has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Essex County is held at the county jail, run by the Essex County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Essex County public records, Essex County arrest records, Essex County warrants, Essex County police reports, Essex County property records, Virginia arrest records and Virginia inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Essex County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Essex County is held at the county jail, run by the Essex County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Essex County Sheriff's Office at essexva.gov/1215/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Essex County, VA), phone 804-443-3347, 304 Prince Street Tappahannock, VA 22560, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 804-443-3347.
The Essex County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 50 people, up from about 49 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Essex County has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 47 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Essex County Jail
The Essex County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Tappahannock make the arrests that end in a booking in Essex County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Essex County: the Essex County State Police (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Tappahannock's 116 for 2025 and the Essex County Sheriff's Office's 51 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Essex County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 167 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Essex County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Essex County serves the sentence in a facility of the Virginia Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Essex County?
Ask the Essex County Sheriff's Office at 804-443-3347; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at essexva.gov/1215/Sheriff.
How many people are in the Essex County jail?
About 50 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
What is the phone number for the Essex County jail?
804-443-3347, the number on the page of the Essex County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Essex County go?
To a facility of the Virginia Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
Is this the official Essex 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.