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.
McDowell County, West Virginia, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the McDowell County Sheriff's Office, three 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 McDowell 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: McDowell County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in McDowell County
The McDowell County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for McDowell County. It reported 224 arrests for 2020, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists three cities in McDowell County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Welch, 3,413 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- War, 546 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Davy, 185 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 McDowell County: the State Fire Marshal in McDowell County and the Department of Natural Resources in McDowell County (state agency); the Welch State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in McDowell 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.
- War: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Welch: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Davy: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- McDowell County Sheriff's Office: 224 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,456 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,456 in 2025 against 3,456 in 2024.
Through September 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,998 arrests, against 2,592 in the same months of 2025.
McDowell County Sheriff's Office reported only part of 2025 (6 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in McDowell 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 McDowell County goes to the regional jail that serves McDowell County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 93 people, down from about 98 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 91 beds, and it ran at 93 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 McDowell County
For McDowell County the place to look is the case index of the McDowell County Circuit Court, kept by the Circuit Clerk, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at courtrecord.net/mcdowell-county-wv-courts (page title: McDowell County Court Records for Free (McDowell County, WV)), phone 304-383-2993, belongs to a lower court, not to the McDowell County Circuit Court.
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 McDowell 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 McDowell County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Welch, War or Davy: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the State Fire Marshal in McDowell County, the Welch State Police or the Department of Natural Resources in McDowell County: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the McDowell County Circuit Court it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at courtrecord.net/mcdowell-county-wv-courts, phone 304-383-2993, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in McDowell County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the ten cities in McDowell County: Welch, War and Davy. Gary, Kimball, Iaeger, Northfork, Bradshaw, Keystone and Anawalt have 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 McDowell County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in McDowell County each year?
War reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,456 between them.
Where are people arrested in McDowell County booked?
In the regional jail that serves McDowell County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in McDowell County?
The court files of criminal cases in the McDowell 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 McDowell County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the McDowell 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 McDowell 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.