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.
Russell County, Virginia, has about 25,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Russell County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Russell 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: Russell County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Russell County
The Russell County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Russell County. It reported 840 arrests for 2025.
One city in Russell County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Lebanon, 3,093 residents: 215 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 St. Paul Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Russell County, so its arrests are not broken out for Russell County here.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Russell County: the Russell County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Russell 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.
- Russell County Sheriff's Office: 840 for 2025, 962 for 2024, 606 for 2023, 1,434 for 2022, 1,214 for 2021 and 1,263 for 2020.
- Lebanon: 215 for 2025, 227 for 2024, 228 for 2023, 223 for 2022, 278 for 2021 and 180 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,055 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,055 in 2025 against 1,189 in 2024, down 11 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 604 arrests, against 596 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Russell County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Russell 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 2024 the jail held about 160 people, down from about 210 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 187 beds, and it ran at 94 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 Russell County
For Russell County the place to look is the case index of the Russell Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at vacourts.gov/courts/combined/russell/home, phone (276) 889-8051).
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 Russell 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 Russell County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Lebanon: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Russell County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Russell Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/courts/combined/russell/home, phone (276) 889-8051.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at russellcountyva.gov (page title: County of Russell, Virginia REQUEST FOR RECORDS PURSUINT).
- 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 Russell County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the three cities in Russell County: Lebanon. Honaker and Cleveland 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 Russell Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Russell County each year?
The Russell County Sheriff's Office reported 840 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,055 between them.
Where are people arrested in Russell County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Russell County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Russell County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Russell 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 Russell County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Russell 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 russellcountyva.gov.
Is this the official Russell 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.