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.
Jackson County, West Virginia, has about 28,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jackson 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 Jackson 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: Jackson County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Jackson County
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jackson County. It reported 125 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Ravenswood, 3,821 residents: 29 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ripley, 3,067 residents: 35 arrests reported for 2024.
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 Jackson County: the Department of Natural Resources in Jackson County and the State Fire Marshal in Jackson County (state agency); the Ripley State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Jackson 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.
- Jackson County Sheriff's Office: 125 for 2025, 172 for 2024, 131 for 2023, 109 for 2022, 120 for 2021 and 96 for 2020.
- Ravenswood: 29 for 2025, 47 for 2023, 20 for 2022, 26 for 2021, 35 for 2020 and 52 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Ripley: 35 for 2024, 39 for 2023 and 43 for 2022.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 154 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 125 in 2025 against 172 in 2024, down 27 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 104 arrests, against 98 in the same months of 2025.
Ripley reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Jackson 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 Jackson County goes to the regional jail that serves Jackson County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 68 people, down from about 77 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 62 beds, and it ran at 107 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Jackson County Sheriff's Office), phone 877-654-8463, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 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 Jackson County
An arrest in Jackson County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Jackson County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courtswv.gov/court-record-access); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jacksoncounty.wv.gov/countygovernmentagencies/Pages/countyprosecuti..., phone 304-373-2270).
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 Jackson 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 Jackson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 877-654-8463.
- An arrest in Ravenswood or Ripley: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Jackson County, the State Fire Marshal in Jackson County or the Ripley State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304-373-2270, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Jackson County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov/court-record-access.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Jackson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Jackson County: Ravenswood and Ripley.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Jackson County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Jackson County each year?
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office reported 125 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 154 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Jackson County?
Look on the custody page of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at jacksoncountyso.com/inmate-search, or call 877-654-8463. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Jackson County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Jackson County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Jackson County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Jackson 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 Jackson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Jackson 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 Jackson 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.