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 24, 2026.
Isle of Wight County, Virginia, has about 41,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Isle of Wight 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 Isle of Wight 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: Isle of Wight County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Isle of Wight County
The Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Isle of Wight County. It reported 601 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Smithfield, 9,032 residents: 139 arrests reported for 2025.
- Windsor, 2,920 residents: 68 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 Isle of Wight County: the Isle of Wight County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Isle of Wight 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.
- Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office: 601 for 2025, 705 for 2024, 673 for 2023, 590 for 2022, 591 for 2021 and 540 for 2020.
- Smithfield: 139 for 2025, 128 for 2024, 93 for 2023, 78 for 2021, 93 for 2020 and 135 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Windsor: 68 for 2025, 64 for 2024, 62 for 2023, 55 for 2022, 44 for 2021 and 44 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 808 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 808 in 2025 against 897 in 2024, down 9.9 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 396 arrests, against 485 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Isle of Wight County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Isle of Wight 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 2024 the jail held about 190 people, up from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 146 beds, and it ran at 126 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 Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office at isleofwightsheriffsoffice.com (page title: Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office), phone 757-357-2151, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Isle of Wight County
An arrest in Isle of Wight County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Isle of Wight Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at isleofwight.gov/government/clerk_of_the_circuit_court/index.php, phone (757) 365-6233); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at isleofwight.gov/government/commonwealth_s_attorney/index.php, phone (757) 357-7312).
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 Isle of Wight 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 Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 757-357-2151.
- An arrest in Smithfield or Windsor: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Isle of Wight 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, (757) 357-7312, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Isle of Wight Circuit Court, through the court records page at isleofwight.gov, phone (757) 365-6233.
- 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 Isle of Wight County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Isle of Wight County: Smithfield and Windsor.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Isle of Wight Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Isle of Wight County each year?
The Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office reported 601 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 808 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Isle of Wight County?
Ask the Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office at 757-357-2151; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at isleofwightsheriffsoffice.com.
Where are people arrested in Isle of Wight County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Isle of Wight County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Isle of Wight 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 Isle of Wight County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Isle of Wight 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.
Is this the official Isle of Wight 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.