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.
Montgomery County, Virginia, has about 99,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and two campus, state or other agencies. 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 Montgomery 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: Montgomery County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Montgomery County
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Montgomery County. It reported 656 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:
- Blacksburg, 45,452 residents: 461 arrests reported for 2025.
- Christiansburg, 22,632 residents: 843 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 these agencies in Montgomery County: the Montgomery County State Police (state police); Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (campus police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Montgomery 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.
- Christiansburg: 843 for 2025, 729 for 2024, 635 for 2023, 532 for 2022, 599 for 2021 and 634 for 2020.
- Montgomery County Sheriff's Office: 656 for 2025, 633 for 2024, 740 for 2023, 796 for 2022, 775 for 2021 and 960 for 2020.
- Blacksburg: 461 for 2025, 551 for 2024, 469 for 2023, 389 for 2022, 550 for 2021 and 432 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,960 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,960 in 2025 against 1,913 in 2024, up 2.5 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 867 arrests, against 1,124 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Montgomery County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Montgomery 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 2025 the jail held about 65 people, down from about 440 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 240 beds, and it ran at 141 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at mcsojail.countygovservices.com/Home/CurrentInmates (page title: Current Inmates | Montgomery County Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 Montgomery County
An arrest in Montgomery County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Montgomery Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at montva.com/1/departments-services/commonwealths-attorney/court-case..., phone 540-382-5705); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at montgomerycountyva.gov/1/departments-services/commonwealths-attorne..., phone 540-382-5705).
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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Blacksburg or Christiansburg: 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 Montgomery County State Police or Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Commonwealth's Attorney, 540-382-5705, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Montgomery Circuit Court, through the court records page at montva.com, phone 540-382-5705.
- 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 Montgomery County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Montgomery County: Blacksburg and Christiansburg.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Montgomery Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Montgomery County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Blacksburg (45,452)
- Christiansburg (22,632)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Montgomery County each year?
Christiansburg reported 843 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,960 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Montgomery County?
Look on the custody page of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at mcsojail.countygovservices.com. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Montgomery County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Montgomery County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Montgomery 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 Montgomery County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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.