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 28, 2026.
Halifax County, Virginia, has about 33,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Halifax County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies 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 Halifax 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: Halifax County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Halifax County
The Halifax County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Halifax County. It reported 569 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Halifax County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- South Boston, 7,795 residents: 347 arrests reported for 2025.
- Halifax, 1,090 residents: 9 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 Halifax County: the Halifax County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Halifax 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.
- Halifax County Sheriff's Office: 569 for 2025, 592 for 2020 and 962 for 2019; 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- South Boston: 347 for 2025, 385 for 2024, 374 for 2023, 254 for 2022, 283 for 2020 and 395 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Halifax: 9 for 2025, 7 for 2023, 21 for 2022, 28 for 2021, 28 for 2020 and 52 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 925 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 347 in 2025 against 385 in 2024, down 9.9 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 494 arrests, against 542 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Halifax County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Halifax 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 110 people, down from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 145 beds, and it ran at 43 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 Halifax County Sheriff's Office at halifaxcountyva.gov/199/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Halifax County, VA), phone 434-476-3339, 134 S Main Street Halifax, VA 24558, Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 Halifax County
Whether someone was arrested in Halifax County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Halifax 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/halifax/home, phone (434) 476-3385); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at halifaxcountyva.gov/178/Commonwealth-Attorney, phone 434-476-2139).
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 Halifax County
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 Halifax County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 434-476-3339.
- An arrest in South Boston or Halifax: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by the Halifax 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, 434-476-2139, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Halifax Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/courts/gd/halifax/home, phone (434) 476-3385.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at halifaxcountyva.gov (page title: The Rights of Requesters and Responsibilities of Halifax ...).
- 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 Halifax County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Halifax County: South Boston and Halifax. Scottsburg and Virgilina have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Halifax Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Halifax County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- South Boston (7,795)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Halifax County each year?
The Halifax County Sheriff's Office reported 569 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 925 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Halifax County?
Ask the Halifax County Sheriff's Office at 434-476-3339; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at halifaxcountyva.gov/199/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Halifax County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Halifax County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Halifax County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Halifax 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 Halifax County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Halifax 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 halifaxcountyva.gov.
Is this the official Halifax 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.