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 2, 2026.
James City, Virginia, has about 83,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the James City County Police Department 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 city jail, and, if the Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the James City 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 and common questions.
Related guides: James City public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in James City
The James City County Police Department is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for James City. It reported 1,019 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in James City: the James City County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests The James City County Police Department Reports
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.
- James City County Police Department: 1,019 for 2025, 1,074 for 2024, 937 for 2023, 954 for 2022, 805 for 2021 and 966 for 2020.
The James City County Police Department's 1,019 arrests in 2025 were down 5.1 percent from 1,074 in 2024.
Through July 2026, James City County Police Department reported 579 arrests, against 605 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in James City Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in James City is held at the city 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 2024 the jail held about 150 people, down from about 170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 230 beds, and it ran at 58 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 James City County Police Department at jamescitycountyva.gov/2698/Sheriff (page title: Williamsburg-James City Sheriff's Office | James City County, VA), phone 757-564-2220, 5201 Monticello Avenue Suite 5 Williamsburg, VA 23188, Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 2, 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 James City
An arrest in James City can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the James City Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at jamescitycountyva.gov/2817/Criminal-Cases-Hearings-Trials, phone 757-564-2242); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jamescitycountyva.gov/171/Commonwealths-Attorney, phone 757-564-2395).
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 James City
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 James City County Police Department: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 757-564-2220.
- An arrest by the James City 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, 757-564-2395, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the James City Circuit Court, through the court records page at jamescitycountyva.gov, phone 757-564-2242.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange; a check on someone else needs their signed consent.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in James City each year?
The James City County Police Department reported 1,019 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in James City?
Ask the James City County Police Department at 757-564-2220; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at jamescitycountyva.gov/2698/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in James City booked?
Those kept in custody go to the city jail, run by the James City County Police Department; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in James City?
The court files of criminal cases in the James City 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 James City?
From the agency that made the arrest: the James City County Police Department 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 James City website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.