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 October 4, 2026.
Nicholas County, West Virginia, has about 24,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Nicholas County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and five 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 Nicholas 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: Nicholas County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Nicholas County
The Nicholas County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Nicholas County. It reported 190 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Nicholas County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Summersville, 3,326 residents: 234 arrests reported for 2025.
- Richwood, 1,607 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 Nicholas County: the Summersville State Police and the Richwood State Police (state police); the Department of Natural Resources in Nicholas County and the State Fire Marshal in Nicholas County (state agency); Central West Virginia Drug Task Force (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Nicholas 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.
- Richwood: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Summersville: 234 for 2025, 214 for 2024, 188 for 2023, 153 for 2022, 126 for 2021 and 157 for 2020.
- Nicholas County Sheriff's Office: 190 for 2025, 114 for 2024, 127 for 2023, 154 for 2022, 113 for 2021 and 198 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,576 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,576 in 2025 against 1,480 in 2024, up 6.5 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 908 arrests, against 1,043 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Nicholas 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 Nicholas County goes to the regional jail that serves Nicholas County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 82 people, down from about 87 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 77 beds, and it ran at 110 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 Nicholas County Sheriff's Office at nicholascountywv.org/sheriff (page title: Nicholas County Sheriff's Department | Sheriff), phone (304) 872-7880, 449 Water Street, Suite 1 Summersville, WV 26651, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Nicholas County
Whether someone was arrested in Nicholas County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Nicholas 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/nicholas_county, phone 304-872-7840); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at nicholascountywv.org/prosecuting-attorney, phone (304) 872-7870).
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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (304) 872-7880.
- An arrest in Summersville or Richwood: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Summersville State Police, the Department of Natural Resources in Nicholas County or the State Fire Marshal in Nicholas County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 872-7870, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Nicholas County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov, phone 304-872-7840.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Nicholas County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in Nicholas County: Summersville and Richwood.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Nicholas County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Nicholas County each year?
Richwood reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,576 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Nicholas County?
Ask the Nicholas County Sheriff's Office at (304) 872-7880; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at nicholascountywv.org/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Nicholas County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Nicholas County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Nicholas County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Nicholas 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 Nicholas County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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.