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.
Putnam County, West Virginia, has about 57,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Putnam 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 Putnam 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: Putnam County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Putnam County
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Putnam County. It reported 503 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists four cities in Putnam County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Hurricane, 6,813 residents: 220 arrests reported for 2024.
- Winfield, 2,428 residents: 6 arrests reported for 2025.
- Eleanor, 1,523 residents.
- Poca, 869 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 Nitro Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Putnam County, so its arrests are not broken out for Putnam County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Putnam County: the Department of Natural Resources in Putnam County and the State Fire Marshal in Putnam County (state agency); the Winfield State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Putnam 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.
- Poca: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Putnam County Sheriff's Office: 503 for 2025 and 522 for 2024.
- Winfield: 6 for 2025, 11 for 2024 and 42 for 2019; 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
- Hurricane: 220 for 2024.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,661 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,661 in 2025 against 1,685 in 2024, down 1.4 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 875 arrests, against 993 in the same months of 2025.
Hurricane reported only part of 2025 (10 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Putnam 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 Putnam County goes to the regional jail that serves Putnam County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 140 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 142 beds, and it ran at 101 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 Putnam County
Whether someone was arrested in Putnam County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Putnam 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/putnam_county, phone 304-586-0262); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at putnamcountywv.gov/prosecutor/about-us).
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 Putnam 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 Putnam County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Hurricane, Winfield, Eleanor or Poca: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Putnam County, the State Fire Marshal in Putnam County or the Winfield 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.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Putnam County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov, phone 304-586-0262.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Putnam County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the six cities in Putnam County: Hurricane, Winfield, Eleanor and Poca. Buffalo and Bancroft 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 Putnam County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Putnam County each year?
Poca reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,661 between them.
Where are people arrested in Putnam County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Putnam County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Putnam County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Putnam 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 Putnam County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Putnam 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 Putnam 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.