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.
Wayne County, West Virginia, has about 38,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wayne 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 Wayne 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: Wayne County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wayne County
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wayne County. It reported 40 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists four cities in Wayne County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Kenova, 2,877 residents: 252 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wayne, 1,394 residents.
- Ceredo, 1,334 residents: 83 arrests reported for 2025.
- Fort Gay, 656 residents.
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 Huntington Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Wayne County, so its arrests are not broken out for Wayne County here.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Wayne County: the Wayne State Police (state police); the State Fire Marshal in Wayne County and the Department of Natural Resources in Wayne County (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Wayne 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.
- Kenova: 252 for 2025, 255 for 2024, 305 for 2023, 333 for 2022, 402 for 2021 and 350 for 2020.
- Ceredo: 83 for 2025, 79 for 2024, 57 for 2023, 91 for 2022, 64 for 2021 and 74 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Wayne County Sheriff's Office: 40 for 2024 and 23 for 2023.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 335 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 335 in 2025 against 334 in 2024, up 0.3 percent.
Wayne County Sheriff's Office reported only part of 2025 (9 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wayne 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 Wayne County goes to the regional jail that serves Wayne County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 88 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 91 beds, and it ran at 101 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 Wayne County Sheriff's Office at waynecountywv.org/sheriff.php (page title: Wayne County West Virginia), phone (304) 272-6378, 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 Wayne County
For Wayne County the place to look is the case index of the Wayne 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/wayne_county, phone 304-272-5486).
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 Wayne 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 Wayne County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (304) 272-6378.
- An arrest in Kenova, Wayne, Ceredo or Fort Gay: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Wayne State Police, the State Fire Marshal in Wayne County or the Department of Natural Resources in Wayne County: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Wayne County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courtswv.gov, phone 304-272-5486.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Wayne County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Wayne County: Kenova, Wayne, Ceredo and Fort Gay.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Wayne County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wayne County each year?
Kenova reported 252 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 335 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wayne County?
Ask the Wayne County Sheriff's Office at (304) 272-6378; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at waynecountywv.org/sheriff.php.
Where are people arrested in Wayne County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Wayne County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Wayne County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Wayne 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 Wayne County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wayne 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 Wayne 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.