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.
Mercer County, West Virginia, has about 58,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Mercer County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and six 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 Mercer 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: Mercer County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Mercer County
The Mercer County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Mercer County. It reported 732 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:
- Bluefield, 9,157 residents: 1,212 arrests reported for 2025.
- Princeton, 5,595 residents: 203 arrests reported for 2022.
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 Mercer County: Concord University and Bluefield State College (campus police); the Department of Natural Resources in Mercer County and the State Fire Marshal in Mercer County (state agency); Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force (other); the Princeton State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Mercer County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Bluefield: 1,212 for 2025, 900 for 2024, 404 for 2023, 276 for 2022, 263 for 2021 and 270 for 2020.
- Matoaka: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Mercer County Sheriff's Office: 732 for 2025, 600 for 2024, 531 for 2023, 527 for 2022, 542 for 2021 and 646 for 2020.
- Princeton: 203 for 2022, 312 for 2021 and 322 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,096 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 3,096 in 2025 against 2,652 in 2024, up 17 percent.
Through June 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1,463 arrests, against 1,541 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Mercer 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 Mercer County goes to the regional jail that serves Mercer County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 130 people, down from about 150 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 113 beds, and it ran at 102 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 Mercer County Sheriff's Office at mercercountywv.com/agencies/sheriff (page title: Sheriff’s Department | Mercer County Commission WV), phone 304-487-8364, 1501 West Main Street, Suite 31 Princeton, WV 24740, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Mercer County
For Mercer County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at mercercountywv.com/offices/prosecuting-attorney, phone 304-487-8340).
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 Mercer 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 Mercer County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-487-8364.
- An arrest in Bluefield or Princeton: 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 Concord University, Bluefield State College or the Department of Natural Resources in Mercer County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304-487-8340, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at mercercountywv.com/foia (page title: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests | Mercer County Commission WV).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Mercer County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the five cities in Mercer County: Bluefield and Princeton. Athens, Bramwell and Oakvale have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list. The FBI's list also carries the Matoaka Police Department as a city agency in Mercer County; Matoaka is not among the cities above.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Mercer County Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Mercer County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Bluefield (9,157)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Mercer County each year?
Bluefield reported 1,212 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,096 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Mercer County?
Ask the Mercer County Sheriff's Office at 304-487-8364; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mercercountywv.com/agencies/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Mercer County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Mercer County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Mercer County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Mercer 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 Mercer County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Mercer 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at mercercountywv.com/foia.
Is this the official Mercer 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.