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.
Ritchie County, West Virginia, has about 8,200 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Ritchie County Sheriff's Office, two 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 Ritchie 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: Ritchie County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Ritchie County
The Ritchie County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Ritchie County. It reported 68 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:
- Harrisville, 1,547 residents.
- Pennsboro, 1,009 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 Ritchie County: the Department of Natural Resources in Ritchie County and the State Fire Marshal in Ritchie County (state agency); the Harrisville State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Ritchie 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.
- Pennsboro: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Ritchie County Sheriff's Office: 68 for 2025, 71 for 2024, 76 for 2023 and 35 for 2022.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,220 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,220 in 2025 against 1,223 in 2024, down 0.2 percent.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 630 arrests, against 708 in the same months of 2025.
Harrisville reported only part of 2025 (5 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Ritchie 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 Ritchie County goes to the regional jail that serves Ritchie County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 17 people, down from about 18 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 12 beds, and it ran at 142 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 Ritchie County Sheriff's Office at ritchiecounty.wv.gov/countygovernmentagencies/Pages/sheriff.aspx (page title: County Sheriff), phone 304-643-2262, 109 E. North Street - Suite 101 Harrisville, WV 26362, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 Ritchie County
Whether someone was arrested in Ritchie County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Ritchie County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at ritchiecountyclerk.com, phone 304-643-2164); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at ritchiecounty.wv.gov/countygovernmentagencies/Pages/countyprosecuti..., phone 304-643-2164).
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 Ritchie 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 Ritchie County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-643-2262.
- An arrest in Harrisville or Pennsboro: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Ritchie County, the State Fire Marshal in Ritchie County or the Harrisville State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304-643-2164, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Ritchie County Circuit Court, through the court records page at ritchiecountyclerk.com, phone 304-643-2164.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Ritchie County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the six cities in Ritchie County: Harrisville and Pennsboro. Ellenboro, Cairo, Pullman and Auburn 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 Ritchie County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Ritchie County each year?
Pennsboro reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,220 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Ritchie County?
Ask the Ritchie County Sheriff's Office at 304-643-2262; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at ritchiecounty.wv.gov.
Where are people arrested in Ritchie County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Ritchie County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Ritchie County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Ritchie 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 Ritchie County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Ritchie 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 Ritchie 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.