Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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.
Barbour County, West Virginia, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Barbour County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and three campus, state or other agencies. An arrest 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 Barbour County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Barbour County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Barbour County
The Barbour County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Barbour County. It reported 99 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists two cities in Barbour County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Philippi, 2,845 residents: 42 arrests reported for 2025.
- Belington, 1,795 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Barbour County: the State Fire Marshal in Barbour County and the Department of Natural Resources in Barbour County (state agency); the Philippi State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Barbour County
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.
- Barbour County Sheriff's Office: 99 for 2024, 88 for 2023, 32 for 2022, 28 for 2021, 8 for 2020 and 32 for 2019.
- Philippi: 42 for 2025, 46 for 2024, 17 for 2023, 43 for 2021 and 23 for 2020; 2022 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 145 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 145 in 2024 against 105 in 2023, up 38 percent.
Belington reported only part of 2024 (5 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Barbour County 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 Barbour County goes to the regional jail that serves Barbour County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 47 people, down from about 60 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 43 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 Barbour County Sheriff's Office at barbourinmates.countygovservices.com (page title: Barbour County Sheriff's Office | Inmate Roster), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
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 Barbour County
An arrest in Barbour County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Barbour County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Barbour County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at barbourcountywv.gov/circuit-clerk, phone (304) 457-3454); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at barbourcountywv.gov/prosecuting-attorney, phone (304) 457-1811).
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 Barbour County
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 Barbour County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Philippi or Belington: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the State Fire Marshal in Barbour County, the Philippi State Police or the Department of Natural Resources in Barbour County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 457-1811, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Barbour County Circuit Court, through the court records page at barbourcountywv.gov/circuit-clerk, phone (304) 457-3454.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Barbour County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the three cities in Barbour County: Philippi and Belington. Junior has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Barbour County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Barbour County each year?
The Barbour County Sheriff's Office reported 99 arrests to the FBI for 2024, and the two agencies with every month of 2024 on file reported 145 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Barbour County?
Look on the custody page of the Barbour County Sheriff's Office at barbourinmates.countygovservices.com. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Barbour County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Barbour County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Barbour County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Barbour 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 Barbour County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Barbour County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official Barbour County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.