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 October 2, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Grant County, West Virginia, has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Grant County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Grant 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: Grant County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Grant County
The Grant County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Grant County. It reported 115 arrests for 2025.
One city in Grant County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Petersburg, 2,277 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 Grant County: the State Fire Marshal in Grant County and the Department of Natural Resources in Grant County (state agency); Potomac Highlands Drug and Violent Crime Task Force (other).
How Many Arrests The Grant County Sheriff's Office 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.
- Grant County Sheriff's Office: 115 for 2025, 59 for 2023, 162 for 2022, 71 for 2021 and 109 for 2020; 2024 is missing months.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office's 59 arrests in 2023 were down 64 percent from 162 in 2022.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Grant 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 Grant County goes to the regional jail that serves Grant County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 29 people, down from about 38 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 41 beds, and it ran at 70 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 Grant County Sheriff's Office at grantcountywv.org/agencies/county-sheriff.php (page title: Grant County West Virgina), phone 304-257-1818, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Grant County
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 Grant 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 Grant County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-257-1818.
- An arrest in Petersburg: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the State Fire Marshal in Grant County, Potomac Highlands Drug and Violent Crime Task Force or the Department of Natural Resources in Grant County: the records office of the agency involved.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Grant County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in Grant County: Petersburg. Bayard 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 Grant County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Grant County each year?
The Grant County Sheriff's Office reported 115 arrests to the FBI for 2025.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Grant County?
Ask the Grant County Sheriff's Office at 304-257-1818; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at grantcountywv.org/agencies/county-sheriff.php.
Where are people arrested in Grant County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Grant County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Grant County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Grant 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 Grant County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Grant 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 Grant 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.