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 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Northumberland County, Virginia, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Northumberland 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 Northumberland 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: Northumberland County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Northumberland County
The Northumberland County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Northumberland County. It reported 105 arrests for 2025.
The Kilmarnock Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Northumberland County, so its arrests are not broken out for Northumberland County here.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Northumberland County: the Northumberland County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests The Northumberland 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.
- Northumberland County Sheriff's Office: 105 for 2025, 116 for 2024, 72 for 2023, 183 for 2021, 183 for 2020 and 171 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
The Northumberland County Sheriff's Office's 105 arrests in 2025 were down 9.5 percent from 116 in 2024.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Northumberland County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Northumberland 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 120 people, up from about 84 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 138 beds, and it ran at 84 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 Northumberland County Sheriff's Office at northumberlandsheriff.net (page title: Northumberland County Sheriff's Office), phone (804) 580-5221, 195 Judicial Place Heathsville, VA 22473, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Northumberland County
For Northumberland County the place to look is the case index of the Northumberland Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.northumberland.va.us/1303/Court-Information).
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 Northumberland 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 Northumberland County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (804) 580-5221.
- An arrest by the Northumberland County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Northumberland Circuit Court, through the court records page at co.northumberland.va.us.
- 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 Northumberland County each year?
The Northumberland County Sheriff's Office reported 105 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Northumberland County?
Ask the Northumberland County Sheriff's Office at (804) 580-5221; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at northumberlandsheriff.net.
Where are people arrested in Northumberland County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Northumberland County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Northumberland County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Northumberland 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 Northumberland County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Northumberland 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 Northumberland 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.