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.
Summers County, West Virginia, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Summers County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Summers 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: Summers County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Summers County
The Summers County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Summers County. It reported 48 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Summers County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Hinton, 2,159 residents: 49 arrests reported for 2021.
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 Summers County: the Department of Natural Resources in Summers County and the State Fire Marshal in Summers County (state agency); the Hinton State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Summers 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.
- Hinton: 49 for 2021.
- Summers County Sheriff's Office: 48 for 2025, 33 for 2024, 39 for 2023, 33 for 2022, 35 for 2021 and 47 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2021 on file reported 84 arrests that year.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Summers 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 Summers County goes to the regional jail that serves Summers County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 25 people, down from about 30 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 23 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 Summers County Sheriff's Office at summerscountywv.gov/sheriffsoffice (page title: Summers County Commission | Sheriff's Office), phone (304) 466-7111, 123 Temple Street, Suite 100, Hinton, WV 25951, Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM, 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 Summers County
For Summers County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at summerscountywv.gov/prosecutingattorney, phone (304) 466-7110).
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 Summers 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 Summers County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (304) 466-7111.
- An arrest in Hinton: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Summers County, the Hinton State Police or the State Fire Marshal in Summers County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 466-7110, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Summers County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Hinton, the one city in Summers County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Summers County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Summers County each year?
Hinton reported 49 arrests to the FBI for 2021, and the two agencies with every month of 2021 on file reported 84 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Summers County?
Ask the Summers County Sheriff's Office at (304) 466-7111; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at summerscountywv.gov/sheriffsoffice.
Where are people arrested in Summers County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Summers County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Summers County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Summers 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 Summers County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Summers 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 Summers 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.