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 on September 23, 2026.
Northampton County, Virginia, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Northampton County Sheriff's Office, three 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 Northampton 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: Northampton County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Northampton County
The Northampton County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Northampton County. It reported 54 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- Exmore, 1,416 residents: 46 arrests reported for 2025.
- Cape Charles, 1,288 residents: 6 arrests reported for 2025.
- Eastville, 291 residents: 2 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 Northampton County: the Northampton County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Northampton 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.
- Northampton County Sheriff's Office: 54 for 2025, 46 for 2024, 59 for 2023, 54 for 2022, 50 for 2021 and 61 for 2020.
- Exmore: 46 for 2025, 48 for 2024, 33 for 2023, 35 for 2022, 38 for 2021 and 23 for 2020.
- Cape Charles: 6 for 2025, 11 for 2024, 31 for 2023, 37 for 2021, 13 for 2020 and 9 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Eastville: 2 for 2025, 0 for 2023 and 1 for 2022; 2024 is missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 108 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 106 in 2025 against 105 in 2024, up 1 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Northampton County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Northampton 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 63 people, down from about 81 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 148 beds, and it ran at 30 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 Northampton County Sheriff's Office at co.northampton.va.us/government/departments_elected_offices/sheriff... (page title: Sheriff's Office | Northampton County), phone 757-678-0460, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Northampton County
For Northampton County the place to look is Online Case Information System, the Virginia courts' free statewide case search, which shows whether charges were filed.
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 Northampton 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 Northampton County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 757-678-0460.
- An arrest in Exmore, Cape Charles or Eastville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Northampton County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.northampton.va.us/i_want_to_/request_ (page title: Request… | Northampton County).
- 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 Northampton County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the five cities in Northampton County: Exmore, Cape Charles and Eastville. Nassawadox and Cheriton have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Northampton Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Northampton County each year?
The Northampton County Sheriff's Office reported 54 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 108 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Northampton County?
Ask the Northampton County Sheriff's Office at 757-678-0460; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.northampton.va.us.
Where are people arrested in Northampton County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Northampton County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Northampton County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Northampton 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 Northampton County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Northampton 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 co.northampton.va.us/i_want_to_/request_.
Is this the official Northampton 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.