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 30, 2026.
Bluefield, West Virginia, in Mercer County, has about 9,200 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 Mercer 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: Bluefield public records, Mercer County arrest records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Bluefield
The FBI lists Bluefield with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Bluefield Police Department. It reported 1,212 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 Mercer County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 732 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Mercer County: Concord University and Bluefield State College (campus police); the Department of Natural Resources in Mercer County and the State Fire Marshal in Mercer County (state agency); Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force (other); the Princeton State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Bluefield 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.
- Bluefield: 1,212 for 2025, 900 for 2024, 404 for 2023, 276 for 2022, 263 for 2021 and 270 for 2020.
Bluefield's 1,212 arrests in 2025 were up 35 percent from 900 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Bluefield reported 676 arrests, against 847 in the same months of 2025.
Across Mercer County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,096 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Bluefield 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 Bluefield goes to the regional jail that serves Mercer County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 130 people, down from about 150 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 113 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 Mercer County Sheriff's Office at mercercountywv.com/agencies/sheriff (page title: Sheriff’s Department | Mercer County Commission WV), phone 304-487-8364, 1501 West Main Street, Suite 31 Princeton, WV 24740, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Bluefield
For Bluefield the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at mercercountywv.com/offices/prosecuting-attorney, phone 304-487-8340).
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 Bluefield
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 Bluefield police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at bluefieldwv.gov/police (page title: Police | City of Bluefield, WV), phone 304-327-2401, 200 South Mercer Street Bluefield, WV 24701, Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Mercer County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-487-8364.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304-487-8340, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at mercercountywv.com/foia (page title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests | Mercer County Commission WV).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
The Mercer County guide covers every agency in the county: Mercer County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Bluefield each year?
Bluefield reported 1,212 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Bluefield?
Ask the Mercer County Sheriff's Office at 304-487-8364; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mercercountywv.com/agencies/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Bluefield booked?
In the regional jail that serves Mercer County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Bluefield?
The court files of criminal cases in the Mercer 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 Bluefield?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Bluefield police for its own arrests, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at mercercountywv.com/foia.
Is this the official Bluefield 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.