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.
Prince Edward County, Virginia, has about 22,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Prince Edward 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: Prince Edward County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Prince Edward County
The Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Prince Edward County. It reported 117 arrests for 2025.
One city in Prince Edward County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Farmville, 7,578 residents: 262 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 Prince Edward County: Longwood University (campus police); the Prince Edward County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Prince Edward 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.
- Farmville: 262 for 2025, 385 for 2024, 291 for 2023, 228 for 2022, 142 for 2021 and 145 for 2020.
- Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office: 117 for 2025, 105 for 2024, 96 for 2023, 110 for 2022, 84 for 2021 and 53 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 379 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 379 in 2025 against 490 in 2024, down 23 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 214 arrests, against 221 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Prince Edward County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Prince Edward 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 460 people, up from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 72 beds, and it ran at 115 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 Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office at co.prince-edward.va.us/Departments/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Prince Edward County), phone 434-392-8101, 124 N. Main Street, 1st Floor Farmville, VA 23901, Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., 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 Prince Edward County
An arrest in Prince Edward County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Prince Edward Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at vacourts.gov/courts/circuit/prince_edward/home, phone (434) 392-5145); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.prince-edward.va.us/Departments/Courts-System/Commonwealths-Atto..., phone (434) 392-1902).
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 Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 434-392-8101.
- An arrest in Farmville: 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 Longwood University or the Prince Edward 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, (434) 392-1902, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Prince Edward Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov, phone (434) 392-5145.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at co.prince-edward.va.us/Government/FOIA-Policy (page title: FOIA Rights & Responsibilities | Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Farmville, the one city in Prince Edward County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Prince Edward Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Prince Edward County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Farmville (7,578)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Prince Edward County each year?
Farmville reported 262 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 379 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Prince Edward County?
Ask the Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office at 434-392-8101; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.prince-edward.va.us/Departments/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Prince Edward County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Prince Edward County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Prince Edward County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Prince Edward 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.prince-edward.va.us/Government/FOIA-Policy.
Is this the official Prince Edward 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.