Western Virginia Regional Jail Overview
Western Virginia Regional Jail is operated by the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority. It is a regional adult jail for Franklin County, Montgomery County, Roanoke County, and the City of Salem. It is not a Virginia Department of Corrections prison and is not a federal or ICE detention facility. For Roanoke County readers, that distinction matters because a local arrest can begin at Roanoke County/Salem Jail, shift to WVRJ, move to VADOC after sentencing, or involve federal custody later in a different system.
The official WVRJ history explains that the regional jail was built because member local jails were overcrowded and sometimes operating at two to three times rated capacity. The authority acquired a 43-acre tract in the Dixie Caverns area of Roanoke County, broke ground in February 2007, dedicated the jail on March 6, 2009, and received first inmates on April 9, 2009. Its mission materials frame the facility around custody, control, and care in a safe, secure, constitutional setting.
Western Virginia Regional Jail Capacity and Population
WVRJ's official facts page gives the clearest facility numbers. The jail covers six acres and approximately 265,000 square feet. Its rated capacity is 605 inmates, and added beds expanded general-population capacity to 805. The facility was designed with room for future growth and can expand by another 649 inmates. These figures describe facility design and capacity, not a live count of people in custody today.
The WVRJ Interesting Facts and Statistics page is the official source for the capacity, footprint, and expansion numbers.
Those statistics help explain why WVRJ is part of the Roanoke County custody search even though the primary local jail remains Roanoke County/Salem Jail.
How to Look Up an Inmate at Western Virginia Regional Jail
The official WVRJ route starts at the Inmate Name Search page. That page directs users to the inmate lookup vendor and says it can be used to see if someone is incarcerated at Western Virginia Regional Jail. The research also identified the quick-link vendor address used by WVRJ. If the vendor interface does not load or the result is unclear, call WVRJ at 540-378-3700.
The WVRJ search page is a routing page, so expect to follow its link to the active lookup system.
Because WVRJ is a regional jail, confirm that the listed facility is Western Virginia Regional Jail before assuming the person is held for a Roanoke County case.
- Open the WVRJ Inmate Name Search page and follow the official inmate lookup link.
- Search by name using the spelling most likely used at booking.
- Confirm that the record shows Western Virginia Regional Jail as the facility or custody location.
- If the person is not listed, search Roanoke County/Salem Jail, call WVRJ, and then check VADOC, BOP, or ICE if the case may have moved outside local custody.
Use the Roanoke Inmate Search for people held at Roanoke County/Salem Jail. Use the VADOC locator for sentenced state custody. Use the BOP locator for federal sentenced inmates from 1982 forward, and use ICE ODLS for immigration detainees. Federal pretrial custody may involve the U.S. Marshals, and there may not be a public USMS profile like a county or regional jail roster.
Western Virginia Regional Jail Address and Contact
Western Virginia Regional Jail is located on West River Road in Salem. The main phone number is the practical first contact for custody questions when the online vendor search does not resolve the issue. Records requests are separate from immediate custody checks and should follow WVRJ's FOIA process when a copy of a public record is needed.
Western Virginia Regional Jail
5885 West River Road
Salem, VA 24153
540-378-3700
Regional adult jail for Franklin, Montgomery, Roanoke, and Salem
Visiting Someone at Western Virginia Regional Jail
The captured WVRJ research did not provide a complete public visitation schedule table, so visitors should not assume county-jail video rules apply at WVRJ. Confirm the current visitation method, scheduling process, identification rules, dress code, and any housing-unit restrictions directly with WVRJ before traveling. Regional jails commonly change visit availability based on housing assignment, discipline, medical isolation, attorney visits, facility operations, or vendor systems.
| Visit Issue | Current Research Finding | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Public schedule | A complete schedule was not captured in the required source sections. | Call WVRJ before arrival. |
| Facility type | Regional adult jail, not a VADOC prison. | Use WVRJ rules, not state-prison rules. |
| Identity check | Visitor ID and eligibility should be confirmed with the jail. | Bring government photo ID unless WVRJ says otherwise. |
| Professional contact | Attorneys and official visitors should verify confidential visit procedures with WVRJ. | Use the main number or published department route. |
| Custody notifications | WVRJ links to VINE resources. | Use Virginia VINE for custody-status notifications. |
Mail, Phone, and Money at Western Virginia Regional Jail
WVRJ's Inmates section links to procedures for mail, money, telephone, email, property, and inmate name search. The jail encourages family and friends to communicate by mail. For money, WVRJ states that cash, money orders, cashier's checks, or checks from other correctional facilities may be accepted through the postal system or in person. Confirm payee format and current restrictions with WVRJ before sending funds.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| WVRJ encourages communication by mail and publishes a mail procedure page in its Inmates section. | |
| Money | Cash, money orders, cashier's checks, or checks from correctional facilities may be accepted by mail or in person. |
| Telephone | General-housing inmates have collect-call access to family, friends, attorneys, parole officers, bondsmen, and others. |
| WVRJ has implemented an email service for family and friends. | |
| Property | WVRJ publishes a property procedure page for property questions. |
The WVRJ homepage also notes a Smart Kiosk system that lets inmates email, file grievances, check commissary balances, and order commissary. That kiosk detail is operational context, not a substitute for the official money or property procedures.
Booking and Intake at Western Virginia Regional Jail
WVRJ may receive adults from its member localities for unsentenced custody, sentenced local custody, transfers, and regional bed-management needs. A person arrested in Roanoke County or Salem may first appear in a local jail or holding process and then be moved to WVRJ depending on the agency, court, charge, bed availability, contract arrangement, or sentence status. The WVRJ lookup should be checked when a local case is not found in the Roanoke County/Salem Jail roster.
The same jail-versus-court distinction still applies. A jail lookup describes custody and booking status, while Virginia court records describe formal charges, hearing dates, amended charges, dispositions, fines, costs, and continuances. If a WVRJ inmate has been sentenced to state custody, the controlling locator may become VADOC rather than the regional jail vendor.
WVRJ Records and FOIA Requests
Western Virginia Regional Jail has its own FOIA page. The research identifies the WVRJ FOIA Officer as Deputy Superintendent Scott Booher. Use FOIA for records requests rather than immediate custody confirmation. Virginia FOIA does not require every correctional or law-enforcement record to be released; records may be withheld or redacted under statutory exemptions, especially when criminal-investigation, safety, privacy, or operational concerns apply.
For Roanoke County police incident reports, court files, or county jail booking records, use the responsible Roanoke County agency instead of WVRJ. The regional jail is the right records source for records it created or maintains. The Roanoke County public-records system, the Roanoke County Police Records Division, and the Virginia Judiciary case-search tools each cover different records.
About Western Virginia Regional Jail
WVRJ is one of the key reasons Roanoke County custody searches should not stop with a single roster. The regional jail was built as a shared solution for four localities, and its capacity is much larger than the downtown Roanoke County/Salem Jail. It is also physically local to the Salem/Roanoke County area, which can make it easy to confuse with the county jail unless the record clearly names the facility.
State oversight remains relevant because WVRJ is a local/regional jail. The Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails sets minimum standards, reviews local and regional jail deaths, and participates in statewide capacity and health-care oversight. Va. Code § 53.1-5 and § 53.1-68 provide the legal framework for standards and inspections, while Va. Code § 9.1-192.1 addresses deaths in custody reporting.
Note: Confirm custody, visit rules, money procedures, and records routing with WVRJ before traveling or sending payments.