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 24, 2026.
Orange County, Virginia, has about 39,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, two 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 Orange 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: Orange County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Orange County
The Orange County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Orange County. It reported 263 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:
- Orange, 5,210 residents: 87 arrests reported for 2025.
- Gordonsville, 1,509 residents: 59 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 Orange County: the Orange County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Orange 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.
- Orange County Sheriff's Office: 263 for 2025, 169 for 2024, 223 for 2023, 165 for 2022, 147 for 2021 and 197 for 2020.
- Orange: 87 for 2025, 121 for 2024, 122 for 2023, 102 for 2022, 87 for 2021 and 113 for 2020.
- Gordonsville: 59 for 2025, 33 for 2024, 57 for 2023, 22 for 2022, 50 for 2021 and 46 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 409 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 409 in 2025 against 323 in 2024, up 27 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 220 arrests, against 227 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Orange County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Orange 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 2025 the jail held about 440 people, up from about 99 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 118 beds, and it ran at 92 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Orange County
An arrest in Orange County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Orange Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at vacourts.gov/caseinfo/home); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at orangecountyva.gov/195/Commonwealths-Attorney, phone (540) 672-4848).
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 Orange 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 Orange County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Orange or Gordonsville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Orange 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) 672-4848, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Orange Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/caseinfo/home.
- 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 Orange County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Orange County: Orange and Gordonsville.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Orange Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Orange County each year?
The Orange County Sheriff's Office reported 263 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 409 between them.
Where are people arrested in Orange County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Orange County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Orange County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Orange 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 Orange County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Orange 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 Orange 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.