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.
Hancock County, West Virginia, has about 28,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and four 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 Hancock 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: Hancock County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Hancock County
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Hancock County. It reported 61 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists three cities in Hancock County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Weirton, 18,317 residents: 332 arrests reported for 2025.
- Chester, 2,105 residents.
- New Cumberland, 974 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 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 Each Agency Reports in Hancock 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.
- New Cumberland: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Weirton: 332 for 2025, 344 for 2022, 355 for 2021, 229 for 2020 and 382 for 2019; 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
- Hancock County Sheriff's Office: 61 for 2024, 87 for 2021, 73 for 2020 and 92 for 2019; 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2021 on file reported 1,361 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2021 and 2020 complete reported 1,361 in 2021 against 1,448 in 2020, down 6 percent.
Chester reported only part of 2021 (6 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hancock 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 Hancock County 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 Hancock County
An arrest in Hancock County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: 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 Hancock County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 Hancock County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (304) 564-7851.
- An arrest in Weirton, Chester or New Cumberland: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Hancock County, the State Fire Marshal in Hancock County or Hancock/Brooke/Weirton Drug Task Force: the records office of the agency involved.
- 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.
Cities in Hancock County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the three cities in Hancock County: Weirton, Chester and New Cumberland.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Hancock County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Hancock County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Weirton (18,317)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Hancock County each year?
New Cumberland reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2021, the latest year most of the agencies in Hancock County sent in full, the three with every month on file reported 1,361 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Hancock County?
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 Hancock County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Hancock County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Hancock County?
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 Hancock County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hancock 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 Hancock 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.