Search Western Virginia Regional Jail

Western Virginia Regional Jail Overview

Western Virginia Regional Jail is a regional jail in Salem serving Franklin County, Montgomery County, Roanoke County, and the City of Salem. WVRJ is not physically in Franklin County, but it is part of the Franklin County custody map because Franklin County is a member jurisdiction. Its own site says the Authority Board includes representatives from the member localities, and its operation material describes a mixed local, state-responsible, federal, and contract inmate population.

The facility was built after the former local jails in the region were operating at two to three times rated capacity. The Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority formed in 2005, ground was broken in February 2007, the jail was dedicated March 6, 2009, and the first inmates arrived April 9, 2009. That history explains why a Franklin County inmate search may lead to a jail in Salem rather than a sheriff-only roster in Rocky Mount.

WVRJ's published inmate-services pages make the regional jail the most detailed online custody source for Franklin County. The site publishes a JailTracker roster link, visitation overview, mail rules, ConnectNetwork money options, telephone rules, property rules, PREA resources, annual reports, and facility facts.

WVRJ Capacity and Population

The WVRJ facts page states that the facility sits on 6 acres, contains about 265,000 square feet, has a rated capacity of 605, and grew to 805 general-population beds after additional beds were added. It also says the facility was designed for expansion by another 649 inmates, with program and service areas sized so future expansion would not require rebuilding those spaces.

The 2023 Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails capacity report lists Western Virginia Regional with 1,023 permanent beds, 4 temporary beds, 82 special-purpose beds, rated capacity of 605, and annualized average daily population of 598.18. The WVRJ operation page also reported a 2016 average daily population of 814. Those figures should not be merged into one live headcount. They come from different source years and measure different reporting points.

The WVRJ facts and statistics page is the source for the facility-size and bed-count facts shown below.

For Franklin County searches, these numbers show why the regional jail can appear in a local inmate lookup even though the street address is outside Franklin County.

Western Virginia Regional Jail Roster

WVRJ publishes an official Inmate Name Search page that links to the JailTracker public roster. The roster is free, does not require a public login, and is configured for current offenders in the public interface. Research observed the agency setting as image-enabled, with search fields for name, gender, offender ID, permanent ID, and intake date range.

The official WVRJ inmate-name-search page points readers to JailTracker before opening the public roster app.

The roster is the right first check for Franklin County inmates who may be housed regionally. If the person is not shown there, check the Franklin County sheriff contact path, VADOC for state custody, or federal and immigration locators when the case involves those systems.

1. Open the WVRJ Inmate Name Search page and follow the Inmate Lookup link to JailTracker.
2. Enter last name first, then add first or middle name if results are broad.
3. Use gender, offender ID, permanent ID, or intake date range when known.
4. Open the detail record and confirm intake date, status, offense table, bond fields, and agency name.
5. Call WVRJ at 540-378-3700 before using roster data for bond, travel, or release planning.

WVRJ JailTracker Fields

The JailTracker app can return a grid of current records and a detail view for each selected person. Public examples showed active status, intake date, gender, offender ID, permanent ID, and a booking-style image when present. The offense table can show offense, arrest code, statute, charge description, status, case number, control number, bond type, and bond amount.

The JailTracker public roster app screenshot below shows the official roster environment used for WVRJ inmate records.

Because the public interface is current-only, do not treat it as a full released-inmate archive. For older records, use the appropriate jail, court, or public-record request channel.

Western Virginia Regional Jail Contact

The regional jail's official address and phone should be used for custody verification, visit questions, professional visit access, mail rule checks, property questions, and inmate services. Franklin County families should not assume the Rocky Mount sheriff contact can answer every WVRJ housing or service question once a person is held at the regional jail.

WVRJ Inmate Visitation

WVRJ states that all non-professional visitation is conducted by video or home visitation. The inmate remains in housing and communicates through a monitor and telephone. Face-to-face personal visitation is not available except for professional visits or specially approved visits by the superintendent. Attorney/client contact rooms and private non-contact rooms are available on-site on a first-come, first-served basis.

The WVRJ visitation overview documents the video and professional-visit structure.

For Franklin County visitors, the key point is to verify housing and visit method before travel. A personal visit path at WVRJ is not the same as an in-person visit at a small local jail.

WVRJ Mail Rules

WVRJ uses a separate mail-processing address for regular inmate postal mail and the physical jail address for legal mail. Regular postal mail must clearly include the inmate name and inmate ID number. Mail missing the required identifiers may be returned to sender. The mail rules also warn that original documents are destroyed after processing, so senders should not mail original certificates, Social Security cards, or photographs that must be returned.

The WVRJ mail rules page is the official source for the Phoenix processing address and legal mail instructions.

Mail rules change more often than addresses on older printouts. Confirm the current ID number and mail format before sending time-sensitive legal or personal mail.

WVRJ Money Deposits

WVRJ identifies ConnectNetwork by GTL/ViaPath as the online deposit route and also lists a lobby kiosk that accepts cash and credit cards. The kiosk is available 24/7 and funds are credited immediately. WVRJ stopped accepting cash, certified checks, or money orders by mail for inmate accounts effective January 1, 2018.

The WVRJ money page documents the ConnectNetwork path, kiosk access, and fee schedule.

Deposits should be made only after confirming the person is housed at WVRJ and matching the inmate name or ID. A deposit sent to the wrong custody system may be difficult to correct.

WVRJ Phone and Property

WVRJ states that general housing inmates usually have access to telephone services from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Calls may be made to family, friends, attorneys, parole officers, bondsmen, and others. Calls are collect calls to the receiving party, and the jail states there are no restrictions on the number of calls as long as all inmates have reasonably equal access.

ViaPath/GTL handles billing and service issues. WVRJ lists support@gtl.net, 866-516-0115 for support, 877-650-4249 for ConnectNetwork account questions, and an on-site ViaPath representative at 540-378-3745 Monday through Friday. Routine incoming messages from family or friends are not accepted, while emergency messages involving court or family matters are processed and death notifications are verified first.

The WVRJ telephone page is the source for phone access hours and support contacts.

Property drop-off is separate from phone access. WVRJ accepts lobby property Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; medically necessary items are accepted at any time. Approved property can include approved medications or eyewear, legal materials, a medical alert bracelet or necklace, one appropriately sized religious medallion, personal funds, and a plain wedding band with no raised stones.

WVRJ and State Custody

WVRJ can hold people for Franklin County before trial, after local sentencing, as state-responsible inmates, under federal arrangements, or through contract custody described by the jail. A JailTracker record does not replace the VADOC locator when a person moves into state prison custody. VADOC says its locator covers incarcerated people in VADOC institutions, probationers and parolees, people in institutional hospitals, people in local or regional jails under VADOC authority, and Community Corrections Alternative Program participants.