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.
Wood County, West Virginia, has about 83,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wood County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and four 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 Wood 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: Wood County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wood County
The Wood County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wood County. It reported 403 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:
- Parkersburg, 28,834 residents: 768 arrests reported for 2025.
- Vienna, 10,406 residents: 368 arrests reported for 2025.
- Williamstown, 2,951 residents: 7 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 Wood County: the Department of Natural Resources in Wood County and the State Fire Marshal in Wood County (state agency); the Parkersburg State Police (state police); Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crime Task Force (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Wood County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Parkersburg: 768 for 2025, 781 for 2024, 808 for 2023, 1,092 for 2022, 1,142 for 2021 and 698 for 2020.
- Wood County Sheriff's Office: 403 for 2025, 340 for 2024, 349 for 2023, 221 for 2022, 214 for 2021 and 325 for 2020.
- Vienna: 368 for 2025, 360 for 2024, 359 for 2023, 416 for 2022, 385 for 2021 and 332 for 2020.
- Williamstown: 7 for 2025, 10 for 2024, 13 for 2022, 20 for 2020 and 30 for 2019; 2021 and 2023 are missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,546 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,546 in 2025 against 1,491 in 2024, up 3.7 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 797 arrests, against 885 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wood 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 Wood County goes to the regional jail that serves Wood County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 170 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 126 beds, and it ran at 142 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
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 Wood County
For Wood County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at woodcountywv.com/county-offices/prosecuting-attorney, phone (304) 424-1776).
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 Wood 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 Wood County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Parkersburg, Vienna or Williamstown: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Natural Resources in Wood County, the Parkersburg State Police or the State Fire Marshal in Wood County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, (304) 424-1776, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Wood County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the four cities in Wood County: Parkersburg, Vienna and Williamstown. North Hills has 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 Wood County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wood County each year?
Parkersburg reported 768 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,546 between them.
Where are people arrested in Wood County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Wood County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Wood County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Wood 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 Wood County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wood 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 Wood 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.