Search South Central Regional Jail Custody

South Central Jail Overview

South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility is operated by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. WVDCR lists the facility at 1001 Centre Way, Charleston, WV 25309, with the main phone number (304) 558-1336 and fax (304) 558-7307. Although it is outside Jackson County, it is the primary jail custody point for Jackson County arrests because West Virginia uses a regional jail system.

WVDCR states that South Central serves Jackson and Kanawha counties. The WVDCR FY2025 Annual Report describes the facility as detention for pretrial felonies, pretrial misdemeanors, sentenced felons, and sentenced misdemeanants from those counties. It also says South Central houses federal detainees for the U.S. Marshals Service. That mix matters for a Jackson County inmate search because a person in the same building may be held on a local magistrate case, a circuit felony case, a sentence, or a federal hold.

The WVDCR facility page says South Central opened in 1993 and contains West Virginia's only Forensic Evaluation Unit. A forensic evaluation is a court-related mental health or competency evaluation, not a separate public jail roster. For most families, the practical split is simple: WVDCR handles custody records and facility rules, while Jackson County Magistrate Court or Circuit Court handles formal charges and court filings.

South Central Jail Population

Population figures for South Central are facility figures, not Jackson County-only totals. The facility serves both Jackson and Kanawha counties and may also hold USMS detainees. The strongest current official population source in the research is the South Central Regional Jail 2025 PREA audit, which reports designed capacity, current population, average daily population, and whether the facility had been over capacity during the prior year.

South Central Inmate Lookup

For current Jackson County regional jail custody, start with the WVDCR Regional Jail Offender Search or the WVDCR Daily Incarcerations tool. The name search requires at least three letters of the last name, and the first name is optional. Daily Incarcerations lets a user select Jackson County from the county dropdown, which helps separate Jackson County detainees from Kanawha County detainees in the same regional facility.

1. Open Daily Incarcerations and select Jackson County when the arrest is believed to be local to Jackson County.
2. Use the Regional Jail Offender Search when a last name is known and a broader jail search is needed.
3. Check the facility or county context in the result because South Central also serves Kanawha County.
4. If the person was sentenced into prison or parole status, search the WVDCR DOC Offender Search instead.
5. If a federal hold is suspected and WVDCR does not answer the question, check the BOP locator or the U.S. Marshals Southern District.

WVDCR warns that public custody information can change quickly and may not reflect true current location, release date, status, or sentencing information. Use the online result to locate custody, then use the court record for the criminal case. Jackson County formal charges may be checked through the Magistrate Case Record Search, WVPASS circuit search, or the appropriate clerk.

South Central Address

Visitors, families, and records requesters should keep the two-location workflow in mind. Custody and visitation are handled at South Central in Charleston. Many charges, bond orders, hearing dates, and copies of court filings are handled in Ripley through Jackson County Magistrate Court or Circuit Court.

WVDCR directions route drivers from Interstate 64 to U.S. Route 119 South, also called Oakwood Road, then to Southridge Boulevard and Centre Way. From Ripley or Ravenswood, the trip is a Charleston-area jail trip, not a courthouse visit.

South Central Visitation

South Central uses non-contact visitation scheduled by offender request on facility-approved days. WVDCR states that only two adults or one adult and two juveniles may visit. If juveniles are included, visitation forms must be notarized and turned in. Adult visitor details include name, address, date of birth, telephone number, and driver's license number. Only one visit is allowed every 30 days from the last visit, and late arrivals receive only the time left in the assigned slot.

Dress and property rules are strict. WVDCR bars orange clothing, open-toed shoes, sandals, piercings, jewelry, hats, scarves, coats, jackets, hoodies, keys, lighters, wallets, purses, and cell phones in visitation. Clothing may not be tight, see-through, low-cut, sleeveless, or too short. Call before travel if a rule affects medical, religious, or accessibility needs.

South Central Mail and Money

WVDCR uses one statewide mail path for people in its custody. The WVDCR mail page gives a centralized Phoenix, Maryland scanning address. Mail must include the inmate's first and last name, OID number, and the full facility name with no abbreviations. The sender must include a full return address with complete first and last name, not initials.

WVDCR says handwritten or typed letters are scanned to the offender. Photographs, letters to more than one offender in one envelope, and attachments or enclosures are not allowed under the public mail rules in the research. A rule violation can cause the contents to be returned to the sender.

South Central Jail Records

Regional jail records and police-created arrest records do not have the same custodian. WVDCR maintains regional jail custody data. Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger, Ripley Police, Ravenswood Police, or WV State Police may hold agency-created arrest reports, incident records, citations, or transport paperwork. Jackson County court offices hold court case files. Under West Virginia FOIA, a public records request should go to the custodian that maintains the existing record.

Pretrial detainee

A person held before the criminal case has reached disposition.

Detainer

A hold or notice from another agency, such as another county, USMS, or immigration authority.

Classification

The jail process for assessing housing, security, medical, and mental health needs.

Forensic evaluation

A court-related competency, responsibility, or mental health evaluation.

South Central Facility Source

The official WVDCR South Central page is the source for the facility address, phone number, counties served, visitor rules, and schedule.

WVDCR's South Central Regional Jail page is shown in the captured facility screenshot below.

The image matches the facility-specific source used for the visitation schedule, regional service area, and public contact information.