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 30, 2026.
Westmoreland County, Virginia, has about 19,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland 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: Westmoreland County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Westmoreland County
The Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Westmoreland County. It reported 220 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Westmoreland County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Colonial Beach, 4,038 residents: 156 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 Westmoreland County: the Westmoreland County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Westmoreland 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.
- Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office: 220 for 2025, 205 for 2024, 262 for 2023, 412 for 2022, 422 for 2021 and 488 for 2020.
- Colonial Beach: 156 for 2025, 163 for 2024, 78 for 2023, 82 for 2022, 51 for 2021 and 119 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 376 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 376 in 2025 against 368 in 2024, up 2.2 percent.
Through June 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 189 arrests, against 166 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Westmoreland County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Westmoreland County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 200 people, up from about 150 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 236 beds, and it ran at 84 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 Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office at westmoreland-county.org/201/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Westmoreland County, VA), phone 804-493-8805, 175 Polk Street Montross VA 22520-0305, Montross, VA 22520 Mon - Fri 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Westmoreland County
Whether someone was arrested in Westmoreland County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Westmoreland 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/westmoreland/home, phone (804) 493-0108); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at westcova.com/commonwealth-attorney, phone 804-493-0114).
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 Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 804-493-8805.
- An arrest in Colonial Beach: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Westmoreland 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, 804-493-0114, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Westmoreland Circuit Court, through the court records page at vacourts.gov/courts/circuit/westmoreland/home, phone (804) 493-0108.
- 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 Westmoreland County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in Westmoreland County: Colonial Beach. Montross has 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 Westmoreland Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Westmoreland County each year?
The Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office reported 220 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 376 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Westmoreland County?
Ask the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office at 804-493-8805; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at westmoreland-county.org/201/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in Westmoreland County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Westmoreland County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Westmoreland 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.
Is this the official Westmoreland 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.