Search Chesapeake Jail Mugshots

Chesapeake jail mugshots and arrest records are kept by the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office, the Chesapeake Correctional Center, and the Hampton Roads Regional Jail. Chesapeake is one of the largest cities in Virginia by area and sits in the Hampton Roads region. People arrested in the city may be held at the local correctional center or sent on to the regional jail. To search for an inmate or get a recent booking photo, you can call the sheriff or send a written FOIA request.

Chesapeake Sheriff's Office

The Chesapeake Sheriff's Office is the main holder of Chesapeake jail mugshots and arrest records. Sheriff Wallace W. Chadwick runs the office. The team manages the Chesapeake Correctional Center, court security, and civil process for the city. You can reach the office at 757-382-6159. The Virginia Sheriffs' Association directory lists the sheriff and the office contact info.

The office is the official record custodian for Chesapeake. Booking photos taken at intake are public for adult arrests under Virginia Code § 2.2-3706. The sheriff has five working days to reply to a FOIA request. To learn more about office services, see the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office page.

Chesapeake is a big city and the sheriff handles a high volume of records each year. Staff can pull files by name, by booking date, or by case number. Plain copies are cheap. Certified copies cost more.

Hampton Roads Regional Jail

The Hampton Roads Regional Jail was set up in 1998 and is at 2690 Elmhurst Lane, Portsmouth, VA 23701. It serves the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth. The facility houses pretrial inmates, sentenced inmates, and people who need special management. Each city pays into the jail based on the shared best interest of the five member cities.

The facility is run by the Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority, made up of sheriffs, city managers, and council members from the five cities. For inmate info, visit policy, and records info, see the Hampton Roads Regional Jail site.

Below is a screenshot of the official HRRJ site, which is the main place to look up jail mugshots from Chesapeake or any of the other five member cities. The page links to inmate info, visit rules, and records request forms.

Use the page as your starting point for any inmate held at HRRJ from a Chesapeake arrest. The records held at the jail are kept in line with § 53.1-116, which sets out what each jailer must record about every inmate.

How to Request Chesapeake Booking Photos

To get Chesapeake jail mugshots, send a FOIA request to the sheriff or the regional jail. State law gives the office five working days to reply. The Virginia FOIA rules are in Chapter 37 of Title 2.2. Your letter should name the person and the date of arrest if you know it.

Adult booking photos must be released under § 2.2-3706. Some details may also fall under § 2.2-3706.1. Juvenile records are not public. The fee for copies must match the actual cost of the search and the copy work.

You can also send the request to the Chesapeake Police Department records unit. The police keep their own arrest files for the cases their officers make.

Chesapeake Court Records and Case Lookup

After an arrest in Chesapeake, the case goes to the General District Court or the Circuit Court. You can search for case info through the Virginia Judicial System case info portal. The portal lets you search by name, case number, or hearing date.

The court file shows the charge, the judge, the next court date, and the case result. The booking photo is not in the court file. For the photo you still need to ask the sheriff. Felony cases are also added to the state Central Criminal Records Exchange under § 19.2-392.2.

Some old arrest files can be sealed by court order under § 19.2-392.3. The state sex offender registry under § 9.1-913 is also open to the public.

VADOC Inmate Locator for Chesapeake

If a person from Chesapeake has been sent to state prison, use the VADOC Inmate Locator. The tool covers people in Virginia Department of Corrections custody. It will not show people held at the Chesapeake Correctional Center or at HRRJ.

To search you need at least the first letter of the first name plus the full last name, or a seven-digit ID. The result shows the current facility, the projected release date, and the active sentence.

Chesapeake Arrest Process

Most arrests in Chesapeake start with a warrant or a probable cause stop. State law in § 19.2-82 sets out how the person must be brought before a magistrate after the arrest. For minor offenses, an officer may give a summons under § 19.2-74.

If the case calls for booking, the person is taken to the Chesapeake Correctional Center. There the staff take a mugshot, prints, and a basic file. Bond is then set by a magistrate. The mugshot becomes part of the public record once intake is done.

Nearby Cities

These nearby Virginia cities also keep their own jail mugshots and arrest records.