The Mingo County Inmate Population
Mingo County does not have a separate county jail building listed in the official West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility inventory. The main jail population serving Mingo County arrests is housed at Southwestern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Holden. WVDCR identifies Southwestern as the regional jail for Boone, Logan, McDowell, and Mingo counties. That means the best available official population figures are facility-level Southwestern numbers unless a source expressly separates Mingo-only admissions or daily count.
This distinction matters for every Mingo County inmate population search. An arrest in Williamson, Matewan, Gilbert, Delbarton, Kermit, or another Mingo community may lead to custody at a jail outside the county line. The jail is not a sheriff-run Mingo jail division. It is a WVDCR regional facility that holds pretrial felony and misdemeanor detainees, convicted misdemeanor and felony inmates, Division of Corrections inmates, and some other categories. Bond orders and court cases may be handled in Mingo County courts while the custody record is maintained by WVDCR.
Mingo County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest local data point for the Mingo County inmate population is the Southwestern Regional Jail count. The 2022 PREA audit reported a designed capacity of 530, a current audit-period population of 520, and a prior 12-month average daily population of 496. WVDCR's FY2025 annual report later listed Southwestern with an average daily count of 437. Those figures should be read as regional jail figures because the facility serves four counties.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Southwestern designed facility capacity | 530 | WVDCR Southwestern PREA audit, 2022 |
| Southwestern current population at audit | 520 | WVDCR Southwestern PREA audit, 2022 |
| Southwestern prior 12-month ADP | 496 | WVDCR Southwestern PREA audit, 2022 |
| Southwestern FY2025 average daily count | 437 | WVDCR FY2025 annual report |
| West Virginia broad incarceration rate | 674 per 100,000 people | Prison Policy Initiative West Virginia profile |
Mingo County Inmate Population Trends
The trend record is multi-source rather than a clean Mingo-only series. The Prison Policy Initiative regional jail list identified Southwestern as serving Boone, Logan, McDowell, and Mingo, with a census-derived count of 467 in its regional-jail reference material. The 2022 PREA audit then showed the jail at 520 during the audit and 496 as the prior-year average daily population. The FY2025 WVDCR average daily count of 437 is lower than both 2022 figures.
| Year or source | Southwestern figure | Local meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2013/2019 regional-jail reference | 467 | Regional jail listing confirms Southwestern's multi-county service area. |
| 2022 PREA current count | 520 | Audit-period count was close to designed capacity. |
| 2022 PREA prior 12-month ADP | 496 | Average daily population showed sustained pressure. |
| FY2025 WVDCR annual report | 437 | More recent average daily count for the same regional jail. |
Who Makes Up the Mingo County Inmate Population
The FY2025 WVDCR table for Southwestern gives the clearest status mix. It lists 437 people in the average daily count. Of that group, the research calculates 251 in pretrial misdemeanor or pretrial felony categories, about 57.4 percent of the total. Convicted misdemeanor and convicted felony categories add up to 55 people, about 12.6 percent. DOC Division of Corrections inmates account for 131 people, about 30.0 percent. Federal pretrial and federal sentenced categories are listed as zero in that table.
- Pretrial jail custody - 251 of the FY2025 Southwestern average daily count were pretrial misdemeanor or felony statuses.
- Sentenced jail statuses - 55 were convicted misdemeanor or convicted felony categories in the same WVDCR table.
- DOC inmates - 131 were Division of Corrections inmates held at the regional jail.
- Federal categories - FY2025 Southwestern federal pretrial and sentenced categories were zero.
Mingo County Jail Capacity and Overcrowding
Capacity analysis for Mingo County starts with Southwestern because that is the serving jail. The 2022 PREA audit listed a designed capacity of 530 and stated that the facility had been over capacity at some point during the prior 12 months. The same audit recorded three housing units, medium custody level, males and females, ages 18 to 99, and no youthful inmates. Those figures explain why a current inmate search can show a Mingo arrestee at a regional jail that also holds people from other counties.
WVDCR's FY2025 annual report adds a system-level context. The report described electronic security upgrades across the 10 regional jails, with construction starting at the beginning of 2025 and expected completion in 2027. It also listed Southwestern among facilities achieving PREA compliance in FY2025. The report did not identify a Mingo-only construction project, jail closure, consent decree, or county jail expansion.
Laws Governing Mingo County Inmate Records
Public access to Mingo County inmate population records comes from several state-law channels. West Virginia FOIA supplies the general inspection and copying rule for public records. The criminal procedure statute explains why a person arrested in Mingo County should be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. Bail law controls release decisions. WVDCR's statutory article supports the state role in operating institutions and regional jails.
Key Statutes:
West Virginia Code § 29B-1-3 requires reasonably specific public-record requests and a response as soon as practicable, within five business days.
West Virginia Code § 29B-1-4 allows exemptions for items such as investigative records, privacy, and correctional security material.
West Virginia Code § 62-1-5 requires arrested people to be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay.
West Virginia Code Chapter 15A, Article 3 governs Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation institutions and operations.
Mingo County State Prison Population
No adult state prison is physically listed in Mingo County on the WVDCR adult facilities list. A person arrested in Mingo County may start in regional jail custody. If convicted and sentenced to prison, the person can move into statewide WVDCR prison custody after sentencing, classification, and transport. Once that happens, the regional jail search may no longer be the best source.
The statewide WVDCR prison/offender search covers people under active supervision, in prison, or on parole. It does not list discharged people or people who moved out of WVDCR custody. That makes status the key question: current regional jail custody belongs in the jail search, while state prison and parole status belong in the DOC locator.
How to Search Mingo County Inmates
The official starting point for a Mingo County jail search is the WVDCR Regional Jail Offender Search. The public form requires at least the first three letters of the last name. First name is optional. Because Southwestern serves four counties, the name-search path is often better for one person, while the WVDCR Daily Incarcerations path can help when searching by county or institution.
Use the search result as a custody record, not as the whole criminal case. WVDCR warns that jail information can change quickly and may not always show the true current location, release date, status, or other information. For charges filed after arrest, use Mingo County Magistrate Record Search or the circuit court system.
- Open the WVDCR regional jail offender search.
- Enter at least three letters of the person's last name. Add a first name when the surname is common.
- Review the facility field and custody status. Mingo arrestees are normally served by Southwestern, but transfers can happen.
- If the person is not found, check Daily Incarcerations, call Southwestern at (304) 239-3032, and check VINE.
- If the person may be sentenced, on parole, federal, or in immigration custody, use the DOC, BOP, or ICE locator instead.
Mingo County Current Inmate Lookup
The jail search form is free to view, but submission uses reCAPTCHA. The research captured the public fields and validation rules from the visible page. There is no county dropdown on the name-search page. The separate Daily Incarcerations page has a county dropdown that includes Mingo, plus an institution route for active inmates.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name (Partial or Full) | Text | Yes | Minimum 3 characters and maximum 100. |
| First Name (Optional) | Text | No | Maximum 100 characters. |
| reCAPTCHA | Verification | Yes to submit | Google reCAPTCHA appears on the public form. |
| Search | Button | n/a | Submitting indicates agreement to WVDCR terms and disclaimer. |
Mingo County Released Inmate Records
Released or older Mingo County inmate records may not stay visible in the same way as active custody records. Start with WVDCR search tools, then move to the office that owns the record. WVDCR is the custodian for jail custody records. The Mingo County Sheriff's Office can be relevant for sheriff arrest or incident records. Magistrate and circuit clerks hold court filings, complaints, bond orders, and dispositions. A West Virginia FOIA request should describe the name, date of birth if known, arrest date, booking date, case number, agency, and record type sought.
No Mingo County public records request form was located on the county website during research. The official county page was not publishing a full sheriff records page at inspection. For a written request, the sheriff's official listing gives the office at 78 East 2nd Ave, Williamson, WV 25661, phone 304-235-0300, and fax 304-235-0436. FOIA may still permit redaction or withholding for investigative, privacy, juvenile, sealed, expunged, victim-identifying, or correctional-security reasons.
What Mingo County Inmate Records Show
A live WVDCR regional jail profile was not opened in the research because the public search submission uses reCAPTCHA. The visible disclaimer still sets important limits. WVDCR states that roster data is public information, is updated regularly, can change quickly, and may not reflect the true current location, release date, status, or other details. It also warns that sentencing information should not be treated as the court record for the underlying criminal case.
| Field or topic | What the research supports |
|---|---|
| Name search fields | Last name is required; first name is optional on the regional jail search. |
| Facility or location | May appear in the custody result, but WVDCR warns location can change quickly. |
| Release date or status | May be incomplete or change; confirm with the jail for urgent custody questions. |
| Charges or sentencing information | Use court records for the underlying criminal action and disposition. |
| Mugshot | Not verified from a live WVDCR profile in this research, so do not assume a photo is shown. |
Mingo County Jail vs Prison Search
County-jail custody and state-prison custody are different record systems. In Mingo County, the regional jail roster covers current jail custody tied to arrest, booking, pretrial detention, short sentenced jail status, and other WVDCR jail categories. The DOC prison locator covers active prison, parole, or supervision status after the case has moved beyond jail custody. Federal and immigration records are outside both systems.
| Question | Regional Jail Custody | State Prison or Parole |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | Pretrial detainees, short-sentence jail inmates, and jail custody categories. | People under active WVDCR prison or parole supervision. |
| Agency | West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation regional jails. | West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation prison system. |
| Search tool | Regional Jail Offender Search or Daily Incarcerations. | DOC Offender Search by OID or name. |
| Common mistake | Calling it a Mingo County-run jail roster. | Searching the jail roster after prison transfer. |
State Federal and ICE Search
Sentenced state prisoners from Mingo County should be checked through WVDCR's prison/offender search. Federal custody uses the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator for federal inmates from 1982 to present. Federal pretrial matters may involve the U.S. Marshals Service Southern District of West Virginia, which covers Mingo County. Immigration custody is searched through ICE Online Detainee Locator System.
The official West Virginia VINE portal can add custody and case notification. The VINE page is useful when a family member or victim needs alerts instead of checking a roster repeatedly.
The research manifest includes a successful capture of the West Virginia VINE portal, which shows the statewide custody-notification path used alongside jail and court searches.
VINE does not replace the WVDCR jail search, but it can help track custody changes after a Mingo County booking.
Mingo County Detention Facilities
The facility map has one detention facility serving Mingo County jail arrests. Southwestern Regional Jail is outside Mingo County, but it is the primary jail facility because West Virginia uses a regional jail model. No BOP, ICE, or adult state prison facility was located within Mingo County in the official facility lists reviewed for the research.
- Southwestern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility - WVDCR regional jail in Holden serving Boone, Logan, McDowell, and Mingo counties.
Mingo County Custody Terms
The same person can appear in different systems as a case moves. These terms help separate the Mingo County inmate population record from the court and prison records that may follow.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest, usually including identity checks, property, screening, and custody entry.
- Pretrial detainee
- A person held before conviction or final court disposition.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency that can affect release even if local bond is posted.
- Classification
- The jail's assessment of housing and security needs.
- DOC
- In West Virginia, the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation operates prisons and regional jails.
Mingo County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Mingo County inmate population?
No official Mingo-only jail ADP was located. The best official figure for the jail serving Mingo County is Southwestern Regional Jail's FY2025 average daily count of 437, from the WVDCR annual report. Label that as a regional jail figure because Southwestern also serves Boone, Logan, and McDowell counties.
How do I search the Mingo County inmate population?
Use the WVDCR Regional Jail Offender Search for current jail custody. If a name search fails, try Daily Incarcerations, call Southwestern Regional Jail, check VINE, and use the DOC prison locator if the person may already be sentenced or on parole.
Does Mingo County have its own jail roster?
No official Mingo County sheriff-run roster was located. Mingo County arrests are served by Southwestern Regional Jail, a WVDCR regional facility. The sheriff may hold arrest or incident records, but WVDCR operates the jail custody system.
Where are court charges after booking?
Jail records show custody and booking details. Charges filed after arrest are checked through Mingo County Magistrate Court, WVPASS for circuit cases, and the clerk offices. The prosecutor may amend, reduce, dismiss, or pursue charges that differ from a booking entry.