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 2024. 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 October 4, 2026.
Elkins, West Virginia, in Randolph County, has about 6,700 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 Randolph 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: Elkins public records, Randolph County arrest records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Elkins
The FBI lists Elkins with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Elkins Police Department. It reported 113 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year. 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 Randolph County Sheriff's Office is the county agency.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Randolph County: the Elkins State Police (state police); the State Fire Marshal in Randolph County and the Department of Natural Resources in Randolph County (state agency).
How Many Arrests Elkins 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.
- Elkins: 113 for 2024 and 174 for 2023.
Elkins's 113 arrests in 2024 were down 35 percent from 174 in 2023.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Elkins 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 Elkins goes to the regional jail that serves Randolph County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 84 people, down from about 110 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 77 beds, and it ran at 104 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Randolph County Sheriff's Office at randolphcountywv.com (page title: Randolph County, WV, Sheriff Office, Jails, Inmate Search), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 Elkins
Whether someone was arrested in Elkins, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the custody page of the Randolph County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at randolphctywv.gov/prosecuting-attorney, phone 304.636.2053).
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 Elkins
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 Elkins police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofelkinswv.gov/departments/public-safety/police-department (page title: Police Department | City of Elkins), phone 304-636-1414, 401 Davis Avenue Elkins, WV 26241, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304.636.2053, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
The Randolph County guide covers every agency in the county: Randolph County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Elkins each year?
Elkins reported 113 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Elkins booked?
In the regional jail that serves Randolph County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Elkins?
The court files of criminal cases in the Randolph 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 Elkins?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Elkins police for its own arrests, the Randolph 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 Elkins 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.