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.
Prince William County, Virginia, has about 497,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Prince William County Police Department, four 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 Prince William 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 William County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Prince William County
The Prince William County Police Department is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Prince William County. It reported 8,875 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Prince William County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Dumfries, 5,978 residents: 106 arrests reported for 2025.
- Haymarket, 1,594 residents: 14 arrests reported for 2025.
- Occoquan, 1,063 residents: 41 arrests reported for 2025.
- Quantico, 591 residents.
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 Prince William County: the Prince William County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Prince William 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.
- Prince William County Police Department: 8,875 for 2025, 9,402 for 2024, 9,961 for 2023, 8,291 for 2022, 7,874 for 2021 and 8,622 for 2020.
- Dumfries: 106 for 2025, 188 for 2024, 184 for 2023, 56 for 2022 and 89 for 2019; 2020 and 2021 are missing months.
- Occoquan: 41 for 2025, 48 for 2020 and 52 for 2019; 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- Haymarket: 14 for 2025, 7 for 2024 and 95 for 2019; 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 9,036 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 8,995 in 2025 against 9,597 in 2024, down 6.3 percent.
Through July 2026, the four agencies with every month so far on file reported 5,391 arrests, against 5,300 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Prince William County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Prince William 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 520 people, down from about 820 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,176 beds, and it ran at 39 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 William County Police Department at pwcva.gov/department/adult-detention-center/inmate-records (page title: Inmate Records), phone (703) 792-4311, 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 William County
For Prince William County the place to look is the case index of the Prince William Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at pwcva.gov/department/circuit-court/court-case-information, phone (703) 792-4311).
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 William 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 William County Police Department: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (703) 792-4311.
- An arrest in Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan or Quantico: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Prince William County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Prince William Circuit Court, through the court records page at pwcva.gov, phone (703) 792-4311.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at pwcva.gov/policefoia (page title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests).
- 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 William County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Prince William County: Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan and Quantico.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Prince William Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Prince William County each year?
The Prince William County Police Department reported 8,875 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 9,036 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Prince William County?
Ask the Prince William County Police Department at (703) 792-4311; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at pwcva.gov.
Where are people arrested in Prince William County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Prince William County Police Department; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Prince William County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Prince William 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 William County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Prince William County Police Department 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 pwcva.gov/policefoia.
Is this the official Prince William 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.