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.
Surry County, Virginia, has about 6,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Surry County Sheriff's Office 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 Surry 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: Surry County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Surry County
The Surry County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Surry County. It reported 49 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Surry County: the Surry County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests The Surry County Sheriff's Office Reports
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.
- Surry County Sheriff's Office: 49 for 2025, 33 for 2024, 46 for 2023, 39 for 2022, 82 for 2021 and 75 for 2020.
Through July 2026, Surry County Sheriff's Office reported 35 arrests, against 27 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Surry County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Surry 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 17 people, down from about 21 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 19 beds, and it ran at 85 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 Surry County Sheriff's Office at surrycountyva.gov/156/Sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Surry County, VA), phone 757-294-5264, 45 School Street Surry, VA 23883, 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 Surry County
An arrest in Surry County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Surry Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at surrycountyva.gov/152/Clerk-of-the-Circuit-Court, phone 757-294-3161); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at surrycountyva.gov/154/Commonwealths-Attorney, phone 757-542-8034).
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 Surry 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 Surry County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 757-294-5264.
- An arrest by the Surry 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, 757-542-8034, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Surry Circuit Court, through the court records page at surrycountyva.gov, phone 757-294-3161.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at surrycountyva.gov (page title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests | Surry 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 Surry County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Surry County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Surry Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Surry County each year?
The Surry County Sheriff's Office reported 49 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Surry County?
Ask the Surry County Sheriff's Office at 757-294-5264; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at surrycountyva.gov/156/Sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Surry County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Surry County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Surry County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Surry 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 Surry County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Surry 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 surrycountyva.gov.
Is this the official Surry 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.