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.
Smyth County, Virginia, has about 29,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Smyth County Sheriff's Office, three 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 Smyth 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: Smyth County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Smyth County
The Smyth County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Smyth County. It reported 794 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Smyth County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Marion, 5,602 residents: 213 arrests reported for 2025.
- Saltville, 1,773 residents: 65 arrests reported for 2024.
- Chilhowie, 1,610 residents: 64 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 Smyth County: the Smyth County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Smyth 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.
- Smyth County Sheriff's Office: 794 for 2025, 829 for 2024, 821 for 2023, 920 for 2022, 796 for 2021 and 757 for 2020.
- Marion: 213 for 2025, 256 for 2024, 262 for 2023, 197 for 2022, 229 for 2021 and 252 for 2020.
- Chilhowie: 64 for 2025, 72 for 2024, 65 for 2023, 31 for 2022, 48 for 2021 and 46 for 2020.
- Saltville: 65 for 2024, 106 for 2023, 79 for 2022, 57 for 2021, 66 for 2020 and 99 for 2019.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,071 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,071 in 2025 against 1,157 in 2024, down 7.4 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 605 arrests, against 630 in the same months of 2025.
Saltville reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Smyth County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Smyth 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 190 people, down from about 250 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 220 beds, and it ran at 94 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 Smyth County Sheriff's Office at smythcounty.gov/departments/sheriff/regional_jail.php (page title: Smyth County, VA), phone 276-782-4056, 3520 Abingdon Regional Jail 15205 Joe Derting Drive Abingdon, VA 24210, Monday - Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Virginia Department of Corrections lists its inmates at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Smyth County
Whether someone was arrested in Smyth County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Smyth Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at vacourts.gov/courts/gd/smyth/home, phone (276) 782-4047); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at smythcounty.gov/departments/commonwealths_attorney/index.php, phone (276) 782-4042).
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 Smyth 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 Smyth County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 276-782-4056.
- An arrest in Marion, Saltville or Chilhowie: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Smyth 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, (276) 782-4042, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Smyth Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/courts/gd/smyth/home, phone (276) 782-4047.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at smythcounty.gov/how_do_i/submit/foia.php (page title: Smyth 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 Smyth County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the three cities in Smyth County: Marion, Saltville and Chilhowie.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Smyth Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Smyth County each year?
The Smyth County Sheriff's Office reported 794 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,071 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Smyth County?
Ask the Smyth County Sheriff's Office at 276-782-4056; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at smythcounty.gov.
Where are people arrested in Smyth County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Smyth County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Smyth County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Smyth 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 Smyth County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Smyth 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 smythcounty.gov/how_do_i/submit/foia.php.
Is this the official Smyth 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.