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.
Weirton, West Virginia, in Hancock 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 Hancock 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: Weirton public records, Hancock County arrest records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Weirton
The FBI lists Weirton with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Weirton Police Department. It reported 332 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 Hancock County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 61 arrests for 2024.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Hancock County: the Department of Natural Resources in Hancock County and the State Fire Marshal in Hancock County (state agency); Hancock/Brooke/Weirton Drug Task Force (other); the New Cumberland State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Weirton Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Weirton: 332 for 2025, 344 for 2022, 355 for 2021, 229 for 2020 and 382 for 2019; 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
Through August 2026, Weirton reported 296 arrests, against 208 in the same months of 2025.
Across Hancock County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2021 on file reported 1,361 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Weirton 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 Weirton goes to the regional jail that serves Hancock County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 69 people, up from about 68 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 60 beds, and it ran at 112 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 Hancock County Sheriff's Office at hancockcountywv.org/sheriff.html (page title: Sheriff's Department Home), phone (304) 564-7851, Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Weirton
Whether someone was arrested in Weirton, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Hancock 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/hancock_county, phone 304-564-3311); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at hancockcountywv.org/prosec.html, phone (304) 564-3933).
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 Weirton
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 Weirton police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at cityofweirton.com/199/Records (page title: Records | Weirton, WV), phone 304-797-8500, 200 Municipal Plaza Weirton, WV 26062, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (304) 564-7851.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 564-3933, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Hancock County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov, phone 304-564-3311.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
The Hancock County guide covers every agency in the county: Hancock County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Weirton each year?
Weirton reported 332 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Weirton?
Ask the Hancock County Sheriff's Office at (304) 564-7851; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hancockcountywv.org/sheriff.html.
Where are people arrested in Weirton booked?
In the regional jail that serves Hancock County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Weirton?
The court files of criminal cases in the Hancock 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 Weirton?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Weirton police for its own arrests, the Hancock 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 Weirton 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.