Search Bland County Jail Mugshots
Bland County jail mugshots and booking photos come from the local sheriff and the regional jail that holds people booked in the county. You can look up arrest records by name or case number. The sheriff handles new arrests. The regional jail keeps folks in custody. Court case info sits with the state court system. This page shows you where to search, who to ask, and how to file a records request. Most inmate records in Bland County are open to the public. Start your search right here.
Bland County Overview
Bland County Sheriff's Office
The Bland County Sheriff is the main keeper of jail mugshots and arrest records in the county. Sheriff Jason R. Ramsey runs the office. The office sits at P.O. Box 449, Bland, VA 24315. You can call 276-688-4311 to ask about a booking or an inmate. Staff can tell you if someone was booked in the last day or two. The sheriff is the point of contact for booking photos, incident reports, and arrest logs.
The Virginia Sheriffs' Association directory lists every sheriff in the state. The directory gives you the sheriff's name, phone, mailing address, and web link. Use it to find the right office when you need jail records. For Bland County arrests, this is where you start. The sheriff's deputies make the arrests and fill out the booking sheets. Those sheets feed into the mugshot file. Under Va. Code § 2.2-3706, adult booking photos taken during the initial intake are open to the public.
Call ahead before you visit. Small offices like this one do not always have a full-time records clerk. You may need to send a written request by mail or email.
Note: Bland County does not run its own jail, so booked suspects are moved to the regional jail in Dublin shortly after the arrest.
New River Valley Regional Jail
The New River Valley Regional Jail holds inmates from Bland County. It sits at 108 Baker Road, Dublin, VA 24084. The jail serves Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Pulaski, Wythe, and the City of Radford. It opened in April 1999 and covers a 28-acre site in the Dublin Industrial Park. The building is about 279,000 square feet. It has a magistrate's office, a medical unit, classrooms, a library, and two outdoor rec yards.
If you need to find someone held on a Bland County charge, contact the jail directly. The main phone line handles inmate info, visiting questions, and bond posting. You can also visit the New River Valley Regional Jail website for rules and visitor forms. Inmate calls go through a third-party phone service. Money for commissary can be sent by mail or online. The jail keeps records of every person booked in, including name, charges, court date, and bond amount. Under Va. Code § 53.1-116, jail staff must keep a full record of each person committed to the jail.
Most local jail records stay with the jail and the booking agency. They are not sent to the state database unless the person is later moved to state prison.
Virginia Inmate Locator
People sentenced to more than a year go to the Virginia Department of Corrections. VADOC runs a public inmate locator. You can look up any person in state custody. The tool needs the first letter of the first name plus the full last name. Or you can enter the seven-digit inmate ID if you know it.
Bland County court cases that end in a state prison term show up here. The VADOC Inmate Locator is free to use. It shows the current facility, the projected release date, and the active sentence. People held at the regional jail will not show up in this tool. You must call the jail for those.
Below is a view of the locator page that covers Bland County state inmates. See the VADOC Inmate Locator for the live search.
The locator updates each business day. Use it to check on people who were moved from the regional jail to a state prison.
Note: VADOC records do not cover people held only in local or regional jails on short or pretrial matters.
Court Case Lookup
Court records tie into jail mugshots. Each booking in Bland County leads to a court case. The Virginia Judicial System runs a free case search. It covers General District Court, Circuit Court, and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. You can search by name or case number. The general district court is where most misdemeanor and traffic matters are heard. Felony cases move up to circuit court.
The Virginia Judicial System Case Status and Information portal also lets you pay fines online for general district court cases. Payments are not accepted through the statewide search tool. The case record shows charges, court dates, bond, and final outcome. It is a good way to follow an arrest from booking to final judgment.
Below is the Virginia court case info portal used for Bland County criminal and traffic lookups. Visit the Virginia Judicial System site to run a search.
Under Va. Code § 19.2-82, a person arrested without a warrant must be brought before a magistrate. The magistrate then issues a warrant or a summons. For minor cases, the officer may issue a summons in place of a warrant under Va. Code § 19.2-74.
FOIA Requests for Arrest Records
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act lets the public ask for arrest records, booking photos, and incident reports. File your request with the agency that holds the records. For Bland County, that means the sheriff's office or the regional jail. You do not have to use the word "FOIA" in your request. You do have to be specific about what you want. Agencies have five working days to respond under Virginia FOIA Chapter 37.
A good request names the person, the date of arrest, and the type of record. You can ask for the mugshot, the arrest report, the booking sheet, and the incident narrative. Criminal investigative files may be held back while a case is open, per Va. Code § 2.2-3706.1. Once the case closes, more info becomes open.
The agency may charge a fee for staff time and copies. The fee must match the real cost. Ask for an estimate first if cost is a worry. Email is often the fastest way to send a request.
Expungement and Sealed Records
Some arrest records can be cleared from public view. Virginia allows expungement when a charge ends in acquittal, a nolle prosequi, or a dismissal. The person files a petition in the circuit court where the case was heard. The rules are set by Va. Code § 19.2-392.2.
Once a record is sealed, it is a crime to open or share it without a court order. That rule sits in Va. Code § 19.2-392.3. A willful violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor. If you are trying to find a Bland County case and it does not show up, the record may have been expunged. The sheriff cannot share any part of an expunged file.
Note: Virginia also maintains a public sex offender registry under Va. Code § 9.1-913, run by the State Police.
State Police Record Checks
The Virginia State Police handle statewide criminal history checks. You can get a record check by filing an SP-167 form. The form must be signed and notarized. Send it to the State Police headquarters in North Chesterfield. Processing takes about 15 business days. The Virginia State Police criminal background check page has the form and fee info. This check covers all Virginia convictions, including those from Bland County.
State Police arrest reports are not open to the public. For a Bland County arrest, go to the sheriff. The State Police check shows only convictions, not pending charges or mugshots.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Bland County. Inmates may be moved between them. Check the right county based on where the arrest happened.