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.
Wetzel County, West Virginia, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wetzel County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and two state 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 Wetzel 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: Wetzel County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wetzel County
The Wetzel County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wetzel County. It reported 235 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- New Martinsville, 5,038 residents: 51 arrests reported for 2025.
- Paden City, 2,388 residents.
- Hundred, 242 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 Wetzel County: the Department of Natural Resources in Wetzel County and the State Fire Marshal in Wetzel County (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Wetzel 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.
- Hundred: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Wetzel County Sheriff's Office: 235 for 2025, 262 for 2024, 166 for 2023, 110 for 2022, 107 for 2021 and 59 for 2020.
- New Martinsville: 51 for 2025, 74 for 2024, 17 for 2021 and 7 for 2019; 2020, 2022 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,438 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,438 in 2025 against 1,488 in 2024, down 3.4 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 860 arrests, against 958 in the same months of 2025.
Paden City reported only part of 2025 (1 month) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wetzel 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 Wetzel County goes to the regional jail that serves Wetzel County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 34 people, down from about 34 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 29 beds, and it ran at 111 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 Wetzel County Sheriff's Office at wetzelsheriff.com/Websites/page.aspx?page=Home (page title: Wetzel County Sheriffs Office), 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 Wetzel County
For Wetzel County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at wetzelcountywv.gov/county-prosecuting-attorney, phone 304-455-8222).
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 Wetzel 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 Wetzel County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in New Martinsville, Paden City or Hundred: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Wetzel County or the State Fire Marshal in Wetzel County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304-455-8222, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Wetzel County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the five cities in Wetzel County: New Martinsville, Paden City and Hundred. Pine Grove and Smithfield 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 Wetzel County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wetzel County each year?
Hundred reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,438 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wetzel County?
Ask the Wetzel County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wetzelsheriff.com.
Where are people arrested in Wetzel County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Wetzel County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Wetzel County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Wetzel 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 Wetzel County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wetzel 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 Wetzel 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.