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.
Scott County, Virginia, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Scott 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 Scott 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: Scott County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Scott County
The Scott County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Scott County. It reported 724 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Scott County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Gate City, 2,019 residents: 45 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 Scott County: the Scott County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Scott 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.
- Scott County Sheriff's Office: 724 for 2025, 675 for 2024, 792 for 2023, 692 for 2022, 879 for 2021 and 1,206 for 2020.
- Gate City: 45 for 2025, 65 for 2024, 101 for 2023, 86 for 2021, 105 for 2020 and 172 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 769 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 769 in 2025 against 740 in 2024, up 3.9 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Scott County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Scott 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 460 people, up from about 170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 157 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 Scott County
For Scott County the place to look is the case index of the Scott 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/scott/home, phone (276) 386-3801).
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 Scott 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 Scott County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Gate City: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Scott County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Scott Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/courts/circuit/scott/home, phone (276) 386-3801.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at scottcountyva.gov/313/Public-Records-Request (page title: Public Records Request | Scott County, VA).
- 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 Scott County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the six cities in Scott County: Gate City. Weber City, Nickelsville, Dungannon, Duffield and Clinchport 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 Scott Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Scott County each year?
The Scott County Sheriff's Office reported 724 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 769 between them.
Where are people arrested in Scott County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Scott County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Scott County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Scott 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 Scott County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Scott 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 scottcountyva.gov/313/Public-Records-Request.
Is this the official Scott 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.