Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. 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 24, 2026 and September 28, 2026.
Beckley, West Virginia, in Raleigh County, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the regional jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Raleigh County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Beckley public records, Raleigh County arrest records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Beckley
The FBI lists Beckley with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Beckley Police Department. It reported 1,484 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 367 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Raleigh County: Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force (other); the State Fire Marshal in Raleigh County and the Department of Natural Resources in Raleigh County (state agency); West Virginia University at Institute of Technology (campus police); the Beckley State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Beckley Reports
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.
- Beckley: 1,484 for 2025, 1,953 for 2024, 1,563 for 2023 and 1,636 for 2022.
Beckley's 1,484 arrests in 2025 were down 24 percent from 1,953 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Beckley reported 807 arrests, against 992 in the same months of 2025.
Across Raleigh County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,851 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Beckley Are Held
West Virginia closed its county jails in favor of regional jails run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, so a person held after an arrest in Beckley goes to the regional jail that serves Raleigh County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 160 people, down from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 145 beds, and it ran at 102 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 Raleigh County Sheriff's Office at raleighcountyclerk.com/sheriff-history (page title: Raleigh County Sheriff History | Raleigh County Clerk), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Beckley
For Beckley the place to look is the case index of the Raleigh County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/raleigh_county, phone 304-252-2417).
West Virginia does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the West 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 Beckley
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Beckley police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at beckleysfinest.com/records-division (page title: Records Division | Beckley Police Department), phone 304-256-1720, 1720 Location 501 Neville Street Beckley, WV 25801, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Raleigh County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov, phone 304-252-2417.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
The Raleigh County guide covers every agency in the county: Raleigh County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Beckley each year?
Beckley reported 1,484 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Beckley?
Ask the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at raleighcountyclerk.com/sheriff-history.
Where are people arrested in Beckley booked?
In the regional jail that serves Raleigh County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Beckley?
The court files of criminal cases in the Raleigh County Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the West 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 West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Beckley?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Beckley police for its own arrests, the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official Beckley website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.