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 on September 24, 2026.
Brooke County, West Virginia, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Brooke County Sheriff's Office, five 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 Brooke 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: Brooke County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Brooke County
The Brooke County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Brooke County. It reported 146 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists five cities in Brooke County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Follansbee, 2,686 residents: 82 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wellsburg, 2,280 residents: 49 arrests reported for 2019.
- Bethany, 753 residents.
- Beech Bottom, 516 residents.
- Windsor Heights, 339 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
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 Weirton Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Brooke County, so its arrests are not broken out for Brooke County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Brooke County: the State Fire Marshal in Brooke County and the Department of Natural Resources in Brooke County (state agency); the Wellsburg State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Brooke County
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.
- Windsor Heights: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Brooke County Sheriff's Office: 146 for 2025, 121 for 2024, 177 for 2023, 178 for 2021, 232 for 2020 and 211 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
- Follansbee: 82 for 2025, 40 for 2024, 28 for 2023, 18 for 2022 and 32 for 2020; 2021 is missing months.
- Wellsburg: 49 for 2019.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2023 on file reported 1,351 arrests that year. The two of them with both 2023 and 2022 complete reported 1,174 in 2023 against 1,150 in 2022, up 2.1 percent.
Wellsburg reported only part of 2023 (4 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Brooke 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 Brooke County goes to the regional jail that serves Brooke County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 53 people, down from about 53 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 46 beds, and it ran at 112 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Brooke County
Whether someone was arrested in Brooke County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Brooke County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at brookecountywv.gov/government/county_clerk/document_inquiry_system.php, phone 304-737-3661); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at brookecountywv.gov/government/prosecuting_attorney.php, phone (304) 737-3660).
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 Brooke 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 Brooke County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Follansbee, Wellsburg, Bethany, Beech Bottom or Windsor Heights: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the State Fire Marshal in Brooke County, the Department of Natural Resources in Brooke County or the Wellsburg State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 737-3660, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Brooke County Circuit Court, through the court records page at brookecountywv.gov, phone 304-737-3661.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Brooke County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the five cities in Brooke County: Follansbee, Wellsburg, Bethany, Beech Bottom and Windsor Heights.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Brooke County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Brooke County each year?
Windsor Heights reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2023, the latest year most of the agencies in Brooke County sent in full, the three with every month on file reported 1,351 between them.
Where are people arrested in Brooke County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Brooke County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Brooke County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Brooke 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 Brooke County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Brooke 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 Brooke 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.