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.
Fairmont, West Virginia, in Marion County, has about 18,000 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 Marion 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: Fairmont public records, Marion County arrest records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Fairmont
The FBI lists Fairmont with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Fairmont Police Department. It reported 384 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 Marion County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 216 arrests for 2024.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Marion County: the Department of Natural Resources in Marion County and the State Fire Marshal in Marion County (state agency); Fairmont State University (campus police); Three Rivers Drug and Violent Crime Task Force (other); the Fairmont State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Fairmont 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.
- Fairmont: 384 for 2025, 470 for 2024, 519 for 2023, 507 for 2022, 621 for 2021 and 618 for 2020.
Fairmont's 384 arrests in 2025 were down 18 percent from 470 in 2024.
Across Marion County, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,032 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Fairmont 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 Fairmont goes to the regional jail that serves Marion County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 120 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 88 beds, and it ran at 142 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 Marion County Sheriff's Office at marioncountywv.com/departments/sheriff_law_office/index.php (page title: Marion County Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement), phone (304) 367-5300, 316 Monroe Street Jacobs Building 1st Floor Fairmont, WV 26554, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Fairmont
An arrest in Fairmont can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Marion 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/marion_county, phone 304-367-5395); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at marioncountywv.com/departments/prosecuting_attorney/index.php, phone 304-367-5380).
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 Fairmont
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 Fairmont police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at fairmontwv.gov/m/directory/department?did=6 (page title: Staff Directory, Police), phone 304-366-4200, 500 Quincy Street Fairmont, WV 26554, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Marion County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (304) 367-5300.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304-367-5380, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Marion County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov, phone 304-367-5395.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
The Marion County guide covers every agency in the county: Marion County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Fairmont each year?
Fairmont reported 384 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Fairmont?
Ask the Marion County Sheriff's Office at (304) 367-5300; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at marioncountywv.com.
Where are people arrested in Fairmont booked?
In the regional jail that serves Marion County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Fairmont?
The court files of criminal cases in the Marion 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 Fairmont?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Fairmont police for its own arrests, the Marion 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 Fairmont 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.