The Clarke County Inmate Population
The Clarke County inmate population is held mainly at one adult facility, the Clarke County Jail at 149 Clark Street in Grove Hill. The Clarke County Sheriff's Department runs the jail and reports the local capacity. Most people counted there are adults arrested by county deputies, by city police in Jackson, Thomasville, or Grove Hill, by state troopers, or by other local agencies. Some are waiting for a first court date. Others are serving short county sentences. A separate juvenile facility holds a small number of minors under court order, and those records are confidential.
The count is not fixed. New arrests push it up. Bond hearings, dismissals, and releases pull it down. When a person is convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison, that person leaves the county count and joins the state prison population under the Alabama Department of Corrections. So the Clarke County inmate population reflects mostly pre-trial and short-sentence custody, while long sentences are served elsewhere in the state.
Clarke County Inmate Population Statistics
The clearest official figure is the jail's capacity. The Clarke County Sheriff's Department page states the jail accommodates up to 200 inmates. The county's separate short-term juvenile detention facility lists a designated capacity of two, per its 2024 PREA audit report. A dated daily census, average daily population, and demographic breakdown were not published in the official county sources reviewed, so those figures are left out here rather than guessed.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke County Jail capacity | Up to 200 inmates | Clarke County Sheriff's Department page, 2026 |
| Juvenile detention designated capacity | 2 beds | 2024 PREA audit report |
| Local detention facilities | 2 | Clarke County Facility Map, 2026 |
| ADOC statewide inmates | 27,601 | ADOC inmate search page, May 2026 |
The statewide number gives context for where sentenced Clarke County residents end up. At the time of research the ADOC inmate search page listed 27,601 inmates statewide, made up of 25,007 males and 2,592 females. That total excludes Youthful Offender Act inmates.
Who Makes Up the Clarke County Inmate Population
The official county source does not publish a dated breakdown of the local jail population, so the makeup is described by category rather than by percentage. The categories below reflect how Alabama county jails and the state system divide custody. Where a number is not in the research, it is not invented.
- Pre-trial and short-sentence adults - the county jail holds adults awaiting court and those serving short county sentences; an exact split was not published.
- Local arrests from a wide area - the sheriff patrols more than 700 miles of rural roads, and city police in Jackson and Thomasville also feed the county jail.
- Juveniles ages 13 to 18 - held only at the short-term juvenile facility under juvenile court order, with confidential records.
- Sentenced felons - counted by the state, not the county, once transferred into Alabama Department of Corrections custody.
Because no public male-to-female or charge-level breakdown was located for the jail, the safest reading is general. Most of the Clarke County inmate population is adult and local, with felony defendants moving to the state count after sentencing.
Clarke County Jail Capacity and Conditions
The published capacity ceiling is up to 200 adult inmates. The sheriff's department maintains the jail and also provides security at the Clarke County Courthouse, where three courtrooms may be in session. The official county site links a 2022 request for proposals covering mechanical and ventilation work at the jail and courthouse, which shows the county treats both as active public buildings that need upkeep.
No current overcrowding lawsuit, consent decree, death-in-custody investigation, or new-jail construction project was found in the official county sources reviewed. Note: the absence of a posted census does not mean the jail is empty, so confirm a person's status by phone rather than assuming a release.
Laws Governing the Clarke County Inmate Population
Alabama law sets a presumption that public writings can be inspected and copied, but it also protects juvenile, sealed, expunged, medical, and active-investigation records. For the Clarke County inmate population, that means jail and arrest data may be requestable from the sheriff, while juvenile detention records stay confidential. The statutes below frame what is public and how access works.
Key Statutes:
Alabama Code § 36-12-40 - Alabama residents have a right to inspect and copy public writings unless another law sets an exception.
Alabama Code § 36-12-41 - lets agencies set reasonable copy and inspection rules and fees, so a records request may require prepayment.
Alabama Code § 41-13-1 - defines public records broadly as materials made or received by public officers doing public business.
Alabama Code § 12-15-133 - keeps juvenile detention and court records confidential except where the law allows access.
Alabama Code Title 15, Chapter 27 - allows expungement of qualifying records, which can remove an arrest or case from public access.
These rules explain why a Clarke County booking record might be released on request while a juvenile placement never is. They also explain why an old arrest may vanish from public view after an expungement order.
Clarke County and the State Prison Population
No Alabama Department of Corrections prison or work center sits inside Clarke County on the current ADOC facilities list. Sentenced felons from the county are transferred into state custody and then counted statewide. After sentencing and state intake, the Clarke County Jail is no longer the place to look for that person. The ADOC inmate search becomes the correct locator, and ADOC Central Records handles formal record requests.
ADOC history does mention an old Clarke County Gravel Camp among early road camps, but that is local corrections history, not a current facility. Today a Clarke County resident in prison shows up in the statewide ADOC count, while the underlying court case stays with the Clarke County Circuit Clerk.
How to Search the Clarke County Inmate Population
Start with the custody level, because it decides which tool to use. The official county sources reviewed for this project did not publish a confirmed online adult jail roster, so a current Clarke County inmate search begins with a phone call to the jail. If the person has been sentenced to state prison, use the ADOC locator instead. Federal and immigration custody use separate federal systems.
Before you call, gather a few identifiers. A full legal name is the minimum, and a date of birth, an arrest date, and the arresting agency all help.
- Call the Clarke County Jail at (251) 275-8156 and ask for adult current-custody status.
- Give the person's full legal name, date of birth or age, approximate arrest date, and arresting agency if known.
- Ask whether bond has been set, whether a first appearance is scheduled, and which agency filed the charge.
- If staff cannot share details by phone, ask how to submit a written request for a booking record or arrest report.
- If the person was sentenced to prison, search the ADOC inmate locator rather than the county jail.
Current Inmate Lookup in Clarke County
Because there is no public county roster, the live lookup for the Clarke County inmate population runs through the jail phone line, not a search box. The table below records what an online roster form would normally contain and marks it as a negative finding for Clarke County, so readers can tell researched facts from claims on unofficial directory pages. For sentenced state inmates the ADOC search does expose real fields.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| No official Clarke County Jail online roster located | n/a | n/a | The county sheriff page publishes the jail address and phone but no public search form, buttons, refresh rate, or sample profile. |
| ADOC AIS # | Text | No | Six-digit Alabama Institutional Serial number; if entered, it takes precedence and name fields are ignored. |
| ADOC First Name | Text | No | Open-ended; can be used alone or with last name on the state locator. |
| ADOC Last Name | Text | No | Open-ended; partial entries return names that begin with those letters, capped at 50 results. |
The ADOC inmate search covers currently incarcerated state inmates only and excludes Youthful Offender Act inmates. It does not show county jail bookings.
The statewide ADOC inmate locator shows the AIS number, first name, and last name fields a sentenced Clarke County inmate would be found under.
Use this state form only after confirming the person left the county jail for prison, since it never returns local pre-trial bookings.
Past and Released Inmate Records
Finding a past or released inmate works differently from a current lookup. Without a county roster, there is no online archive of old bookings to browse. The better path is the court file, because a criminal case can stay searchable long after a person leaves the jail. The Clarke County Circuit Clerk keeps the case record, and AlaCourt ACCESS offers paid on-demand trial-court searches by name or case number.
For a historical booking record, arrest report, or jail log, submit a written public-records request to the sheriff's department and ask about fees, identification, and processing time. If the person was transferred to state prison, the ADOC locator shows current custody, since ADOC says historical data is not posted online. Note: do not assume a person was released just because no online result appears, because new bookings and transfers can lag.
The Clarke County First Judicial Circuit homepage points to the courthouse and the e-notice registration that supports past-case research.
Once a case number is in hand, that record often outlasts any trace of the booking in the jail's inmate population.
What a Clarke County Inmate Record Shows
No official public Clarke County inmate profile was available to inspect, so the fields below are request topics, not promises that each item appears online. A jail may keep these details internally, while formal charges and court settings live with the circuit clerk. The table reflects what a county booking record can cover and where to confirm each item.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Needed for phone and written requests; no official online profile was found. |
| Booking date/time | Not visible in an official county roster; ask the jail or sheriff records contact. |
| Arresting agency | May be the sheriff, a city police department, ALEA, or another agency. |
| Charges | Initial booking charges can differ from the formal charges filed in court. |
| Bond | Call the jail, and verify court status if a case has opened. |
| Mugshot | No official online adult gallery was located; request release rules from the sheriff. |
| Court date | Use the circuit clerk or AlaCourt once a case is filed. |
| Release status | Verify with the jail or through VINE notification where available. |
Booking photos for current inmates are covered on the jail roster mugshots page, which explains what is and is not public.
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
Readers often mix up the county jail and state prison, which leads to searching the wrong system. Pre-trial detainees and short-sentence inmates stay in the county jail. Sentenced felons move to a state prison run by ADOC, which keeps its own locator. The comparison below shows which system covers which part of the inmate population.
| County Jail | State Prison (DOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pre-trial and short sentences | Sentenced felons |
| Run By | Clarke County Sheriff's Department | Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) |
| Where to Look | Jail phone, (251) 275-8156 | ADOC inmate search |
| How to Find | Call for current custody; no online roster | Search by AIS number or name online |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Each level of custody has its own locator, and each covers a different slice of the inmate population. Sentenced state prisoners appear in the ADOC search. Federal inmates appear in the Bureau of Prisons system, and immigration detainees appear in the ICE locator. None of these is a county jail roster, so use the one that matches the person's situation.
- State prison: the ADOC inmate search for currently incarcerated Alabama prisoners.
- Federal prison: the Federal BOP inmate locator for federal inmates held from 1982 to the present.
- Immigration: the ICE detainee locator, which needs a full name with A-number or date of birth and country of birth.
- Notification: Alabama victim notification and VINELink for custody-status alerts.
Note: ICE does not list anyone under 18, and BOP warns that release dates can change under First Step Act reviews.
The Federal BOP inmate locator offers both a register-number search and a name search for anyone in federal custody since 1982.
If a Clarke County case moved to federal court, this locator, not the county jail or ADOC, is where the person will appear.
Clarke County Detention Facilities
The Clarke County detention map is small. There is one adult jail and one short-term juvenile facility, both tied to the sheriff's department in Grove Hill. No state prison or federal detention center sits inside the county. Each facility below holds a different part of the local population.
- Clarke County Jail - the adult facility for local arrests, pre-trial detainees, and county-sentenced inmates, with a stated capacity of up to 200.
- Clarke County Short Term Juvenile Detention Facility - secure, short-term care for juveniles ages 13 to 18 under juvenile court order, with confidential records and two designated beds.
Clarke County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Clarke County inmate population?
The official sheriff page states the Clarke County Jail accommodates up to 200 inmates, which is the capacity ceiling rather than a daily count. A dated daily census or average daily population was not published in the official county sources reviewed, so no exact current figure is claimed here. The separate juvenile facility lists just two designated beds. To learn how many people are held on a given day, the most reliable step is to call the jail directly.
How do I search the Clarke County inmate population?
For someone in current county custody, call the Clarke County Jail at (251) 275-8156, because no confirmed public online roster was located. Have the person's full name, date of birth, and arrest date ready. If the person was sentenced to state prison, use the ADOC inmate search by name or AIS number instead. Federal and immigration detainees use the BOP locator and the ICE detainee locator, which are separate systems from the county jail.
Can I look up a released or past inmate?
There is no online archive of past county bookings to browse. The court case is usually the better trail, since it can stay searchable after release through the Clarke County Circuit Clerk or AlaCourt ACCESS. For an old booking record, arrest report, or jail log, send a written public-records request to the sheriff's department and ask about fees and processing time. A person moved to state prison shows current custody in the ADOC locator.
Does the Clarke County jail post mugshots online?
No official adult mugshot gallery or recent-bookings feed was located on the county or sheriff website. Under Alabama public-records law, a booking photo may be requestable from the sheriff unless it is sealed, expunged, juvenile, or withheld for safety or investigation reasons. Submit a written request that names the person, arrest date, and agency. There is no public mugshot system for juveniles or federal inmates.
What is the difference between the county jail and state prison count?
The county jail count covers pre-trial detainees and short-sentence inmates held locally by the sheriff. The state prison count covers sentenced felons in Alabama Department of Corrections custody after transfer. A Clarke County resident sentenced to prison leaves the county count and joins the statewide ADOC total, which stood at 27,601 inmates when the ADOC page was reviewed in May 2026.
Is there a Clarke County sheriff app for inmate searches?
No official Clarke County Sheriff's Department mobile app or app-only inmate roster was located in the official sources reviewed. There is no app-only warrant search or most-wanted list documented either. Use the jail phone line, the sheriff's office, the circuit clerk and AlaCourt for court records, the ADOC locator for state prisoners, and the BOP and ICE locators for federal and immigration custody.