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 October 9, 2026.
Russell County, Virginia, has about 25,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Russell County is held at the county jail, run by the Russell County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Russell County public records, Russell County arrest records, Russell County warrants, Russell County criminal records, Russell County court records, Virginia arrest records and Virginia inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Russell County
The county jail, run by the Russell County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Russell County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Russell County Sheriff's Office at russellcountysheriffsdepartment.com (page title: Russell County Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Russell County Jail by the Numbers
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.
Russell County has about 25,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 64 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Russell County Jail
The Russell County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Lebanon make the arrests that end in a booking in Russell County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Russell County: the Russell County State Police (state police).
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 largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Russell County Sheriff's Office's 840 for 2025 and Lebanon's 215 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Russell County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,055 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Russell County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Russell County serves the sentence in a facility of the Virginia Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Russell County?
Ask the Russell County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at russellcountysheriffsdepartment.com.
How many people are in the Russell County jail?
About 160 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 187 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Russell County go?
To a facility of the Virginia Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
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.