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 October 9, 2026.
St. Albans, West Virginia, in Kanawha County, has about 10,000 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 Kanawha 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: St. Albans public records, Kanawha County arrest records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in St. Albans
The FBI lists St. Albans with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as St. Albans Police Department. It reported 277 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 Kanawha County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 1,143 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Kanawha County: Bridge Valley Technical College and West Virginia State University (campus police); the Department of Natural Resources at Headquarters, the Department of Natural Resources in Kanawha County, the State Fire Marshal in Kanawha County and the Capitol Protective Services (state agency); Kanawha County Parks and Recreation and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (other); the Bureau of Criminal Investigation Academy State Police, the Kanawha County State Police, Parkway Authority, the South Charleston State Police and the Quincy State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests St. Albans 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.
- St. Albans: 277 for 2025, 348 for 2024, 548 for 2023, 606 for 2021, 338 for 2020 and 264 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
St. Albans's 277 arrests in 2025 were down 20 percent from 348 in 2024.
Through May 2026, St. Albans reported 222 arrests, against 100 in the same months of 2025.
Across Kanawha County, the nine agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 7,371 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in St. Albans 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 St. Albans goes to the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 430 people, down from about 500 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 398 beds, and it ran at 107 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 Kanawha County Sheriff's Office at kanawhasheriff.us (page title: Kanawha County Sheriff's Office | Charleston, West Virginia), phone 304-357-0216, 301 Virginia Street East, Charleston, WV 25301, 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 St. Albans
Whether someone was arrested in St. Albans, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Kanawha County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courtswv.gov/appellate-courts/office-of-the-clerk, phone (304) 558-2601); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at kanawha.us/prosecuting-attorney, phone (304) 357-0300).
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 St. Albans
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 St. Albans police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at stalbanswv.com/departments/police (page title: Police Department | City of St. Albans, WV), phone 304-727-2251, 613 MacCorkle Avenue St. Albans, WV 25177, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-357-0216.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 357-0300, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Kanawha County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov, phone (304) 558-2601.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
The Kanawha County guide covers every agency in the county: Kanawha County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in St. Albans each year?
St. Albans reported 277 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in St. Albans?
Ask the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office at 304-357-0216; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at kanawhasheriff.us.
Where are people arrested in St. Albans booked?
In the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in St. Albans?
The court files of criminal cases in the Kanawha 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 St. Albans?
From the agency that made the arrest: the St. Albans police for its own arrests, the Kanawha 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 St. Albans 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.