The Braxton County Inmate Population
The best official view of the Braxton County inmate population is the Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility count published by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation FY2025 annual report. Braxton County does not operate a separate county jail. Central Regional Jail is a state-run regional facility in Braxton County, and it serves Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Roane, and Webster counties. That means a person counted at the facility may have a Braxton County case, a case from one of the other served counties, a state custody status, or a federal hold.
This distinction matters when reading jail numbers. The Braxton County inmate population is not the same thing as a Braxton-only arrest count. Arrests, bond orders, magistrate court decisions, felony sentencing, state prison transfers, federal detainers, and releases all change the visible custody count. The sheriff's office may make arrests and keep local law-enforcement reports, but WVDCR runs jail intake, housing, visitation, mail, money, public jail search tools, and facility population reporting for Central Regional Jail.
Local custody point: Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility is the public jail facility for Braxton County arrests that require regional jail custody.
Braxton County Inmate Population Statistics
WVDCR's FY2025 data gives the clearest sourced snapshot for Central Regional Jail. The facility had a rated population of 312 and an FY2025 average daily population of 351. The same annual report listed 2,189 admissions and 2,121 releases for the facility. Older Regional Jail Authority reporting from FY2018 listed a historic total bed capacity of 345, but current pages should treat the FY2025 rated population as the current official facility figure.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Central Regional Jail rated population | 312 | WVDCR FY2025 annual report |
| Central Regional Jail average daily population | 351 | WVDCR FY2025 annual report |
| Central Regional Jail admissions | 2,189 | WVDCR FY2025 annual report |
| Central Regional Jail releases | 2,121 | WVDCR FY2025 annual report |
| Older total bed capacity | 345 | WV Regional Jail Authority FY2018 annual report |
| Braxton County 2025 estimated population | 11,885 | U.S. Census QuickFacts |
Braxton County Inmate Population Trends
Central Regional Jail's long-term count has moved above and below its older capacity line. The FY2010 average daily population was 279. By FY2018, the average daily population reached 353. WVDCR's later annual reports show 355 in FY2019 and FY2020, then a high point of 425 in FY2021. The count dropped to 403 in FY2022 and 351 in FY2025. Even after that decline, the FY2025 average daily population remained above the current rated population of 312.
| Year | ADP / Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 279 | Regional Jail Authority trend table |
| FY2018 | 353 | Above older 345-bed total capacity |
| FY2021 | 425 | Highest figure listed in the research trend |
| FY2022 | 403 | WVDCR FY2022 annual report series |
| FY2025 | 351 | WVDCR FY2025 annual report |
The FY2025 average daily population was about 112.5 percent of the FY2025 rated population. It was also slightly above the older 345-bed total capacity described in the FY2018 regional-jail report. Those figures should be read as facility-level data, not as a daily count of only Braxton County defendants.
Who Is in Braxton County Custody
The FY2025 Central Regional row shows a mixed jail population. Most people were held on felony or state custody categories, but the facility also held misdemeanor, federal pretrial, and federal sentenced groups. WVDCR listed 151 pretrial felony detainees, 32 convicted felony detainees, 39 pretrial misdemeanor detainees, 24 convicted misdemeanor detainees, 86 DOC offenders, 12 federal pretrial detainees, and 7 federal sentenced detainees. The same row listed 76 female and 275 male people in the average daily population total.
- Pretrial felony custody was the largest listed category at Central Regional Jail in FY2025.
- DOC offenders were also present, showing that the jail holds more than new arrests.
- Federal custody categories appeared in the facility count, but federal sentenced inmates should be searched through BOP when transferred.
- Female and male totals were published by WVDCR, but no Braxton-only race or age breakdown was located.
Laws for Braxton County Inmate Records
West Virginia law gives public access to many government records, but it does not make every jail, court, medical, juvenile, security, or investigative record open in full. Current jail custody is best checked through the official WVDCR roster first. Older or non-displayed records may require a request to the proper custodian, such as WVDCR for jail custody records, the Braxton County Sheriff Records Division for sheriff reports, or the court clerk for filed court documents.
Key Statutes:
WV Code Section 29B-1-1 states West Virginia's broad policy that people are entitled to information about government affairs unless law provides otherwise.
WV Code Section 29B-1-3 requires public-records requests to reasonably identify the records and receive a response within five business days, excluding weekends and legal holidays.
WV Code Section 15A-3-16 explains county use of regional jail facilities and limits short-term local jail holding.
WV Code Section 61-12-8 requires medical examiner notice for certain deaths, including deaths of inmates in public institutions.
Search the Braxton County Jail Roster
The main online path for the Braxton County inmate population is the WV Regional Jail Offender Search. It covers current regional jail custody, including Central Regional Jail. The WVDCR offender-search hub also links to Daily Incarcerations, jail search, prison search, and escapee or absconder tools. On July 2, 2026, Daily Incarcerations showed Central Regional Jail admissions, but that page is an admissions view, not a total live population count.
- Open the WV Regional Jail offender search or the WVDCR offender-search hub.
- Use the jail search for someone recently arrested or believed to be held at Central Regional Jail.
- Enter at least the first three letters of the last name, then add the first name if needed.
- Complete reCAPTCHA and submit the search.
- If no result appears, check Daily Incarcerations, then search the WVDCR prison locator for a sentenced or transferred person.
For a deeper walk-through of roster fields and fallback channels, the Braxton County jail inmate records page focuses on current jail lookup details.
Braxton County Inmate Search Fields
The official jail search is a name search. It does not use the Braxton County Sheriff's site, and it does not cover discharged state offenders who are no longer in WVDCR custody. The form requires a last-name fragment and a reCAPTCHA. Daily Incarcerations adds a county dropdown path for same-day admissions and institution-based searches.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | Yes | Minimum 3 and maximum 100 characters; partial or full last name accepted. |
| First Name | Text | No | Maximum 100 characters; useful for common last names. |
| reCAPTCHA | Verification | Yes | Google reCAPTCHA must be completed before submission. |
| Daily Incarcerations County | Dropdown | Yes on that page | Select Braxton for county admissions or check Central Regional Jail by institution. |
The official Daily Incarcerations page is a good fallback when a same-day booking is expected but the name search is hard to narrow.
The search form confirms the last-name requirement and the optional first-name field used for current regional jail custody.
What Braxton County Inmate Records Show
Full public profile inspection was limited by reCAPTCHA, but the official Daily Incarcerations result structure and WVDCR warnings identify the key record categories. A jail result may show identity and admission information, while location, release date, status, and other details can change quickly. WVDCR also warns that sentencing or charge information in the jail system should not be treated as the final court record.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Daily Incarcerations result fields include last name, first name, and middle name. |
| Birth Date | Visible in indexed admission result fields. |
| Gender | Visible in indexed admission result fields. |
| Admission Time | Shown as the time field on admission results. |
| Facility | Results can be grouped by institution, including Central Regional Jail. |
| Charges or Bond | Use court records for filed charges, bond orders, hearings, and dispositions. |
Braxton County Jail vs Prison Lookup
A current Braxton County inmate search often fails because the person is no longer in the jail system that first booked them. A sentenced felon may leave Central Regional Jail and move into the statewide prison or supervision system. A federal case may move to the Bureau of Prisons after sentencing. An immigration matter may need the ICE locator. Each system covers a different custody stage.
| Custody Stage | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Regional jail custody | WV Regional Jail Offender Search | Current pretrial and short-sentence jail custody at Central Regional and other WV regional jails. |
| State prison or active supervision | WVDCR DOC search | Active prison, parole, or supervision records, not discharged offenders. |
| Federal sentence | BOP inmate locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present. |
| Immigration detention | ICE detainee locator | Adult immigration detainee location searches by A-number or biographical details. |
Braxton County State and Federal Search
The WVDCR prison and supervision search is separate from the regional jail search. It accepts an offender ID path or a name path, with at least four digits for an OID or at least the first three letters of both first and last name for a name search. The page is for people under active WVDCR supervision, in prison, or on parole. WVDCR warns that a discharged person, or a person who has left active state custody, may return no result even if the person once had a West Virginia sentence.
Federal and immigration searches should not be forced through the Braxton County jail roster. The BOP inmate locator covers federal inmates from 1982 to present and can search by register number, DCDC number, FBI number, INS number, or name fields. ICE's locator is for adult immigration detainees and uses either A-number and country of birth or biographical details. A federal or ICE hold can affect release from Central Regional Jail, but a hold is not the same as being housed in a Braxton County facility.
West Virginia VINELink adds a notification layer. It should be treated as a custody-notification service, not as the only public roster. A family member may use VINELink after checking WVDCR's jail search, especially when a release, transfer, or court movement could happen quickly. The statewide West Virginia Sheriff Connect app also exists, but no official source confirmed a Braxton-specific app-only jail roster.
| Tool | Best Use | Important Limit |
|---|---|---|
| WVDCR DOC Search | Sentenced prison, parole, or active state supervision lookup. | Discharged offenders may not appear. |
| BOP Locator | Federal inmate lookup from 1982 to present. | It does not publish routine federal mugshots. |
| ICE Locator | Adult immigration detainee location search. | JavaScript and exact identity details may be needed. |
| VINELink | Custody status notification in West Virginia. | It supplements the roster and official agency contact. |
Braxton County Detention Facility
Only one detention facility was located in the Braxton County facility map. It is not a county sheriff jail. It is a WVDCR regional jail and correctional facility that handles jail custody for Braxton County and seven other counties. No BOP prison, ICE detention center, state prison, municipal jail, work-release annex, or separate sheriff-run jail was found inside Braxton County.
- Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility holds pretrial felony and misdemeanor detainees, sentenced jail inmates, and some state or federal custody categories reported by WVDCR.
Braxton County Records Fallbacks
If the roster does not answer the question, match the request to the office that owns the record. Central Regional Jail can confirm facility questions at 304-765-7904. WVDCR can handle jail-custody records and formal DCR contact or FOIA paths. The Braxton County Sheriff Records Division handles sheriff accident and criminal reports at 505 Main Street in Sutton, with weekday public hours listed by the county phone directory. Court clerks handle filed complaints, hearings, warrants, bond orders, and dispositions.
Sheriff records are not the same as jail custody records. The sheriff page lists Sheriff Lou DellaMea and describes duties such as arrests, prisoner transportation, process service, court security, tax functions, and concealed weapon permits. The county phone directory lists the Law Enforcement / Records Division / Process Server office separately, with posted fees for accident and criminal reports and a higher posted fee when reports include photos. Those posted sheriff-report fees do not set WVDCR custody-record charges, court-copy charges, or partner-search prices.
Formal public-records requests should be narrow and routed to the custodian. West Virginia FOIA gives the custodian five business days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, to respond, but exemptions can apply to law-enforcement records, privacy, security, juvenile records, sealed records, expunged records, and other confidential material. A good request identifies the person, date range, agency, record type, and whether the requester seeks inspection, copies, or a specific item such as a booking photo or report.
- Booking
- Jail intake record created after arrest or court commitment.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency, such as federal, immigration, parole, or another county.
- Pretrial
- Custody before conviction or final case disposition.
- DOC
- West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state agency running Central Regional and prison searches.
Braxton County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Braxton County inmate population?
The best official figure is Central Regional Jail's FY2025 average daily population of 351 from WVDCR. That is a facility-level regional jail figure, not a Braxton-only count.
Does Braxton County run its own jail?
No official source located a separate sheriff-run Braxton County jail. Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility is the regional jail serving Braxton County arrests.
Where are Braxton County inmate mugshots?
WVDCR creates booking photos and runs the official jail search, but the research did not verify that every public profile displays a photo. The Braxton County jail mugshots page explains the limits and request paths.
Can released inmates be searched?
Current jail search tools are the first stop, but released, discharged, sealed, juvenile, or expunged records may not appear. Older records usually require the proper custodian.