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.
Madison County, Virginia, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Madison County Sheriff's Office 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 Madison 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: Madison County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Madison County
The Madison County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Madison County. It reported 293 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Madison County: the Madison County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests The Madison County Sheriff's Office 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.
- Madison County Sheriff's Office: 293 for 2025, 290 for 2024, 287 for 2023, 227 for 2022, 210 for 2021 and 195 for 2020.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office's 293 arrests in 2025 were up 1 percent from 290 in 2024.
Through July 2026, Madison County Sheriff's Office reported 147 arrests, against 181 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Madison County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Madison 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 2024 the jail held about 44 people, up from about 38 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 43 beds, and it ran at 92 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office at sheriffrandytucker.com/madison-county-detention-center (page title: Madison County Detention Center | Madison County Sheriff's Department), 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 Madison County
Whether someone was arrested in Madison County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Madison Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at madisonco.virginia.gov/219/Clerk-of-the-Circuit-Court, phone 540-948-6888); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at madisonco.virginia.gov/267/Commonwealths-Attorney, phone 540-948-7000).
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 Madison 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 Madison County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest by the Madison 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, 540-948-7000, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Madison Circuit Court, through the court records page at madisonco.virginia.gov, phone 540-948-6888.
- 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 Madison County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Madison County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Madison Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Madison County each year?
The Madison County Sheriff's Office reported 293 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Madison County?
Ask the Madison County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriffrandytucker.com.
Where are people arrested in Madison County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Madison County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Madison County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Madison 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 Madison County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Madison 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 Madison 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.