Over 200 people are employed at the Western Virginia Regional Jail. This workforce is comprised of corrections officers, civilians, and contract workers who provide food, medical, and commissary services.
The Western Virginia Regional Jail was built to alleviate the overcrowded and potentially unsafe conditions in the local jails of the four localities that formed the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority in 2005. The local jails were operating at two to 3 times their rated capacities.