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.
Frederick County, Virginia, has about 98,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and two campus, state or other agencies. 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 Frederick 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: Frederick County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Frederick County
The Frederick County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Frederick County. It reported 2,311 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Frederick County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Stephens City, 2,160 residents: 18 arrests reported for 2025.
- Middletown, 1,444 residents: 11 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 these agencies in Frederick County: Laurel Ridge Community College (campus police); the Frederick County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Frederick 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.
- Frederick County Sheriff's Office: 2,311 for 2025, 1,774 for 2024, 1,653 for 2023, 2,366 for 2022, 2,447 for 2021 and 2,591 for 2020.
- Stephens City: 18 for 2025, 27 for 2024, 17 for 2023, 10 for 2022, 11 for 2021 and 3 for 2020.
- Middletown: 11 for 2025, 2 for 2023, 4 for 2022, 4 for 2021, 8 for 2020 and 2 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,340 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 2,329 in 2025 against 1,801 in 2024, up 29 percent.
Through March 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 466 arrests, against 563 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Frederick County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Frederick 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 630 people, up from about 280 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 395 beds, and it ran at 67 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 Frederick County Sheriff's Office at fredericksburgva.gov/479/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Fredericksburg, VA), phone 540-372-1056, 701 Princess Anne St Fredericksburg, VA 22401, Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Frederick County
Whether someone was arrested in Frederick County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Frederick Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at fcva.us/live/courts, phone (540) 665-5600); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at fredericksburgva.gov/1882/The-Commonwealths-Attorney-Office).
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 Frederick 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 Frederick County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 540-372-1056.
- An arrest in Stephens City or Middletown: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Laurel Ridge Community College or the Frederick 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 handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Frederick Circuit Court, through the court records page at fcva.us/live/courts, phone (540) 665-5600.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at frederickcountyva.nextrequest.com (page title: Open Public RecordsNextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- 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 Frederick County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Frederick County: Stephens City and Middletown.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Frederick Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Frederick County each year?
The Frederick County Sheriff's Office reported 2,311 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 2,340 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Frederick County?
Ask the Frederick County Sheriff's Office at 540-372-1056; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at fredericksburgva.gov/479/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Frederick County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Frederick County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Frederick 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 Frederick County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Frederick 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 frederickcountyva.nextrequest.com.
Is this the official Frederick 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.