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 1, 2026.
Hanover County, Virginia, has about 115,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Hanover County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Hanover 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: Hanover County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Hanover County
The Hanover County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Hanover County. It reported 2,805 arrests for 2025.
One city in Hanover County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Ashland, 7,910 residents: 215 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 Hanover County: the Hanover County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Hanover County
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.
- Hanover County Sheriff's Office: 2,805 for 2025, 2,644 for 2024, 2,562 for 2023, 2,681 for 2022, 2,837 for 2021 and 3,219 for 2020.
- Ashland: 215 for 2025, 234 for 2024, 315 for 2023, 228 for 2022, 176 for 2021 and 156 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,020 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,020 in 2025 against 2,878 in 2024, up 4.9 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,706 arrests, against 1,836 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hanover County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hanover 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 400 people, up from about 380 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 519 beds, and it ran at 66 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 Hanover County Sheriff's Office at hanoversheriff.com/306/Find (page title: Find | Hanover County Sheriff, VA), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 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 Hanover County
For Hanover County the place to look is the case index of the Hanover Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at hanovercounty.gov/622/Courts).
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 Hanover 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 Hanover County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Ashland: 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 Hanover County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Hanover Circuit Court, through the court records page at hanovercounty.gov/622/Courts.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at hanovercounty.gov (page title: FOIA Rights and Responsibilities | Hanover 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.
Cities in Hanover County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Ashland, the one city in Hanover County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Hanover Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Hanover County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Ashland (7,910)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Hanover County each year?
The Hanover County Sheriff's Office reported 2,805 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,020 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Hanover County?
Ask the Hanover County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hanoversheriff.com/306/Find.
Where are people arrested in Hanover County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Hanover County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Hanover County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Hanover 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 Hanover County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hanover 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 hanovercounty.gov.
Is this the official Hanover 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.