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 30, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Preston County, West Virginia, has about 34,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Preston County Sheriff's Office, four 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 Preston 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: Preston County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Preston County
The Preston County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Preston County. It reported 182 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four 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:
- Kingwood, 2,953 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Terra Alta, 1,413 residents.
- Reedsville, 527 residents: 1,152 arrests reported for 2025.
- Masontown, 507 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 Preston County: the Department of Natural Resources in Preston County and the State Fire Marshal in Preston County (state agency); the Kingwood State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Preston 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.
- Kingwood: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Masontown: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Reedsville: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Preston County Sheriff's Office: 182 for 2025, 286 for 2022, 304 for 2021, 361 for 2020 and 295 for 2019; 2023 and 2024 are missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,638 arrests that year. The three of them 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.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Preston 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 Preston County goes to the regional jail that serves Preston County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 110 people, down from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 99 beds, and it ran at 104 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 Preston County
For Preston County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at prestoncountywv.gov/m/directory/department?did=15).
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 Preston 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 Preston County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Kingwood, Terra Alta, Reedsville or Masontown: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Preston County, the State Fire Marshal in Preston County or the Kingwood State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Preston County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the ten cities in Preston County: Kingwood, Terra Alta, Reedsville and Masontown. Rowlesburg, Tunnelton, Newburg, Albright, Brandonville and Bruceton Mills 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 Preston County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Preston County each year?
Kingwood reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 3,638 between them.
Where are people arrested in Preston County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Preston County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Preston County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Preston 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 Preston County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Preston 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 Preston 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.