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 26, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Buckhannon, West Virginia, in Upshur County, has about 5,000 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 Upshur 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: Buckhannon public records, Upshur County arrest records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Buckhannon
The FBI lists Buckhannon with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Buckhannon Police Department. It reported 196 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 Upshur County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 171 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Upshur County: the Department of Natural Resources in Upshur County and the State Fire Marshal in Upshur County (state agency); Mountain Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force (other); the Buckhannon State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Buckhannon 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.
- Buckhannon: 196 for 2025, 164 for 2024, 158 for 2023, 167 for 2021 and 197 for 2020; 2022 is missing months.
Buckhannon's 196 arrests in 2025 were up 20 percent from 164 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Buckhannon reported 120 arrests, against 123 in the same months of 2025.
Across Upshur County, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 367 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Buckhannon 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 Buckhannon goes to the regional jail that serves Upshur County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 71 people, down from about 91 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 65 beds, and it ran at 104 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Buckhannon
For Buckhannon the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at upshurcounty.org/departments/prosecuting_attorney_s_office/index.php, phone (304) 472-9699).
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 Buckhannon
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 Buckhannon police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at buckhannonwv.org/residents/foia-requests (page title: CITY OF BUCKHANNON | FOIA Requests), phone 304-472-1651, 70 East Main Street Buckhannon, WV 26201, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Upshur County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 472-9699, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
The Upshur County guide covers every agency in the county: Upshur County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Buckhannon each year?
Buckhannon reported 196 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Buckhannon booked?
In the regional jail that serves Upshur County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Buckhannon?
The court files of criminal cases in the Upshur 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 Buckhannon?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Buckhannon police for its own arrests, the Upshur 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 Buckhannon 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.