The Perry County Inmate Population
Custody in Perry County runs on three tracks, and they rarely overlap. The Perry County Sheriff's Office operates the county jail in Pinckneyville for people who were just arrested, people awaiting trial, and people serving short county sentences. A separate and far larger group sits inside Pinckneyville Correctional Center, a state prison that happens to stand in the county but answers to the Illinois Department of Corrections. A third group is federal: the jail's 2024 state inspection says it houses detainees for the U.S. Marshals under contract and takes detainees from nearby counties when asked.
Because of that split, the phrase "Perry County inmate population" can mean very different counts. The county jail held a small number on its last inspection date, yet the state prison in the same county holds well over a thousand sentenced men. The number you care about rises and falls for ordinary reasons: arrests, bond and detention decisions in court, sentencing, and transfers out to state prison once a sentence begins.
Perry County Inmate Population Statistics
The clearest local source for the jail side of the Perry County inmate population is the state's annual compliance inspection. The 2024 report, dated March 20, 2024, lists a rated capacity of 57 beds and a point-in-time count of 18 people. Those are the governing local numbers, and they are point-in-time counts rather than a full-year average. Where older figures appear below, they come from a national county dataset and use a different method, so the source and year are listed every time.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Jail rated capacity | 57 beds (47 male, 10 female) | IDOC inspection, Mar 20, 2024 |
| Jail count on inspection date | 18 (12 male, 6 female) | IDOC inspection, Mar 20, 2024 |
| Prior-year jail count | 25 (19 male, 6 female) | IDOC inspection, Mar 21, 2023 |
| Jail occupancy on inspection date | About 31.6% | Calculated from IDOC 2024 count |
| Historic jail population | 53 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2015 |
| Jail incarceration rate | 369.83 per 100,000 adults 15-64 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2015 |
The state inspection figures are published because Illinois requires it. The full report names the inspected facility, its capacity block, and its staffing, and it is posted by the Illinois Department of Corrections as a public document. That is why a precise bed count and a precise inspection-date head count exist at all for a jail this size.
Perry County Inmate Population Trends
Two data sources track the jail over time, and they do not measure the same thing. National county data from the Vera Institute covers 2013 through 2015 and reflects a fuller picture of average custody. The state inspections give a single-day snapshot each spring. Read together they show a jail that ran near capacity a decade ago and sat well below capacity on its two most recent inspection dates.
| Year | Jail Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 44 | Vera county data; rated capacity 59 |
| 2014 | 45 | Vera county data; rated capacity 58.83 |
| 2015 | 53 | Vera county data; rated capacity 58.67 |
| 2023 | 25 | IDOC inspection snapshot, Mar 21, 2023 |
| 2024 | 18 | IDOC inspection snapshot, Mar 20, 2024 |
One trend holds across both sources. A meaningful share of the count has long been people held for the federal government, not local arrests. Vera recorded a federal component near 17 to 18 people in 2013 through 2015, and the 2024 inspection still notes U.S. Marshals contract housing. So a falling local head count does not always mean fewer people behind the jail's doors.
Note: The 2024 and 2023 figures are single-day inspection counts, so they should not be read as a full-year average daily population.
Who Makes Up the Perry County Inmate Population
The jail mixes several kinds of detainees under one roof, and the state inspection records the split in broad terms. The same report confirms the jail holds no juveniles, with a rated juvenile capacity of zero and no youth on the inspection date. The points below summarize what the sourced records actually show.
- Pre-trial and sentenced together - the jail holds the newly arrested, people awaiting trial, and people serving short county sentences in one facility.
- Male and female counts - the 2024 inspection counted 12 men and 6 women, against rated beds of 47 male and 10 female.
- Held for other agencies - the inspection states the jail houses U.S. Marshals detainees under contract and area-county detainees as needed.
- No juveniles - the rated juvenile capacity is zero, and the inspection-date juvenile count was also zero.
Perry County Jail Capacity and Overcrowding
Overcrowding is not the story at the Perry County Jail right now. On March 20, 2024 the jail held 18 people in 57 rated beds, an occupancy near 31.6 percent. The prior spring it held 25, near 43.9 percent. A decade earlier the picture was tighter: the 2015 county figure of 53 sat against a rated capacity near 58.67, an occupancy above 90 percent. The building dates to 1987 and runs one floor of detention, with 21 double cells, a set of single and double detention rooms, and one eight-person dorm.
The 2024 inspection did flag two compliance items, and neither was about crowding. One concerned scheduling a local health-department kitchen inspection, and the other concerned the timeliness of the required personal checks, where a sample showed 228 of 266 expected checks were on time, an 86 percent rate. The same report lists concrete upgrades since the prior visit, including new bedding and clothing, communication tablets, a bilingual detainee handbook, air purifiers, an iris-scanning system, and roof repair.
Read the count carefully: The 18-person jail figure and the much larger state prison figure describe two different populations. People detained by the Perry County Jail are not the same as sentenced individuals housed in the state prison that sits in the county.
Laws Governing the Perry County Inmate Population
The reason this data exists in public at all comes down to a handful of Illinois laws. They make jail records open, give the state authority to inspect county jails and publish the results, and set the operating standards that require a jail to keep booking, custody, and release records in the first place. Each one below is paired with a plain-English summary.
Key Statutes:
Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140 - opens the records of public bodies, including the sheriff and jail, subject to listed exemptions.
730 ILCS 5/3-15-2 - lets the Illinois Department of Corrections set jail standards, inspect adult jails, and make the inspection reports available to the public.
20 Ill. Admin. Code Part 701 - the County Jail Standards that require records for admission, custody, classification, and release.
5 ILCS 140/2.15 - requires certain arrest-report information to be furnished within 72 hours and limits posting some booking photos on social media.
Population reporting has its own channel. The state's Jail and Detention Standards Unit collects county jail population statistics monthly and forwards annual data to a state criminal-justice authority, which is how single jails end up in statewide counts.
Perry County and the State Prison Population
The largest incarcerated group tied to Perry County is not in the county jail. It is at Pinckneyville Correctional Center, a medium-security prison for adult men that opened in October 1998. The state lists an operational capacity of 2,827 and a population of 1,756 as of June 30, 2024. That single facility dwarfs the county jail by raw head count, but it holds sentenced people in state custody, not pre-trial county detainees.
A second state program is linked to the county. The Du Quoin Impact Program is a structured program tied to Pinckneyville, with an operational capacity of 200. The state reported a physical population of 0 at the Du Quoin site as of June 30, 2024, with 48 people enrolled as of December 16, 2024 and housed at the Murphysboro Life Skills Re-Entry Center. Anyone searching for a person in either state setting should use the statewide locator, not the county jail channels.
The state's own facility page for the prison, captured at the IDOC Pinckneyville Correctional Center listing, sets out the warden, capacity, and visitation details.
That page is the right starting point when the person you want has already been sentenced and moved into state prison custody.
How to Search the Perry County Inmate Population
There is no verified public web roster for the Perry County Jail on the county or sheriff's official pages. A page that looks like a Perry County sheriff portal turned up in search results, but its records pointed to Tennessee, so it should not be trusted for Illinois. Instead, the sheriff's office directs people to its official mobile app for arrests and records, and the jail and records channels fill the gaps. The order below works for most current searches.
- Start with the official Perry County Sheriff Illinois app, which the sheriff's page promotes for viewing arrests and records.
- If the app does not show the person, call the jail at 618-357-6931 or the sheriff's office at 618-357-5212 and ask whether the person is in custody.
- For someone who has been sentenced and sent to state prison, search the IDOC Individual in Custody locator instead.
- For a federal case, use the federal Bureau of Prisons locator, or contact the U.S. Marshals for a pre-trial federal detainee.
- For a past booking that no longer shows in current channels, file a written public-records request with the sheriff.
The sheriff's app is listed on Google Play as Perry County Sheriff Illinois, the channel the county points to for arrest and record access.
Because the app's screens could not be inspected in a browser, treat any roster or mugshot feature as app-directed and confirm details by phone when it matters.
Current Inmate Lookup in Perry County
For a current Perry County inmate search, no single online form has been verified, so the practical approach is to work the channels the county actually documents. The table below lists each channel, what it covers, and how to reach it. Start at the top and move down only if the earlier step does not answer the question.
| Channel | What It Covers | How to Reach It |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff app | Arrests and records the county chooses to publish | Perry County Sheriff Illinois app |
| Jail phone | Current custody status, holds, transfers | 618-357-6931 |
| Sheriff's office | Records routing and agency questions | 618-357-5212 |
| Public-records request | Past booking records and booking photos | foia@perrycountyil.gov |
The jail runs detention around the clock, but counter and records hours can differ. The county government generally keeps weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., so it is wise to confirm before driving to the jail in Pinckneyville.
Past and Released Inmate Records
Finding a released or past detainee takes a different path than a current search. Once a person leaves custody, current channels may stop showing them, and the most reliable route becomes a written public-records request to the agency that holds the booking record. For a person who was sentenced to state prison, the search moves to the statewide locator, because the county jail is no longer the right place to look. A few custody terms make these records easier to read.
- Pre-trial detention
- Custody before a case is resolved, common in the county jail.
- Hold
- Another case, agency, or court order that keeps a person in custody even when local charges would allow release.
- Detainer
- A formal notice from another agency asking the jail to hold a person.
- Recognizance release
- Release on conditions rather than a money deposit.
- Classification
- The jail's housing and security assessment, reviewed at least every 60 days under state standards.
Note: A written records request works best when it names the person, the arrest or booking date, the arresting agency, and the exact records sought.
What a Perry County Inmate Record Shows
No public online inmate profile for the county jail was available to inspect, so the items below come from the jail's state inspection standards rather than a live web page. They describe the administrative record a jail must keep for each detainee. Some of these can be released through a records request, but their presence on any public roster is not confirmed and should not be assumed.
| Record Item | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Booking and personal record | The core intake record kept for each detainee. |
| Identity verification | Confirmation of who is being detained at admission. |
| Fingerprints and photograph | Taken at booking in accordance with current law; public posting is not confirmed. |
| Property receipt | An itemized, signed list of money and belongings taken at intake. |
| Medical and mental-health screening | Intake screening for injury, illness, medication, and risk. |
| Release date, time, and authority | When and by whose order a person was released or transferred. |
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
The most common search mistake is looking in the wrong system. Pre-trial detainees and people serving short sentences are in the county jail and are reached through the sheriff. Sentenced felons move into state prison and are tracked by the Illinois Department of Corrections in a separate locator. The table sorts out which is which.
| County Jail | State Prison (DOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pre-trial and short county sentences | Sentenced adults in state custody |
| Run By | Perry County Sheriff's Office | Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) |
| Where to Look | Sheriff app, jail phone, records request | IDOC Individual in Custody Search |
| Stays Listed | While in county custody; confirm by phone | Until release or parole, per IDOC |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Beyond the county jail, three more systems cover different slices of the Perry County inmate population. The state locator handles sentenced prisoners. The federal Bureau of Prisons covers federal inmates, while the U.S. Marshals handle federal pre-trial custody, which matters here because the jail houses Marshals detainees under contract. Immigration custody uses a separate federal locator, and a statewide notification service can alert families to custody changes.
Use the IDOC Individual in Custody Search for state prisoners, the federal Bureau of Prisons locator for sentenced federal inmates, the ICE Online Detainee Locator for immigration custody, and Illinois VINE for custody and case notifications. The federal locator accepts both a number search and a name search, as the field table shows.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of Number | Dropdown | For number search | BOP Register, DCDC, FBI, or INS number |
| Number | Text | For number search | BOP register format shown as #####-### |
| Last Name | Text | For name search | Required marker shown by last name |
| First Name | Text | For name search | Used with the last name |
| Race / Sex / Age | Filters | No | Narrow results for common names |
The federal form and its result labels are visible on the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
A result marked released or not in custody does not prove a person is free, since they may be in another system or on supervision.
Perry County Detention Facilities
Three facilities account for the incarcerated population connected to Perry County, and each holds a different group. The county jail is the only true local pre-trial facility; the other two are state corrections settings. Each detail page covers lookups, visitation, and contact for that site.
- Perry County Jail - the county jail for pre-trial detainees, short county sentences, and contracted federal and area-county detainees.
- Pinckneyville Correctional Center - a medium-security state prison for sentenced adult men in IDOC custody.
- Du Quoin Impact Program - a minimum-security state impact program tied to Pinckneyville, with enrollees currently housed at Murphysboro.
Perry County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Perry County inmate population?
It depends on which custody you mean. The county jail held 18 people on its March 20, 2024 state inspection in 57 rated beds. The state prison in the county, Pinckneyville Correctional Center, held 1,756 as of June 30, 2024. Those are separate populations and should not be added together as if they were one jail.
How do I search the Perry County inmate population?
Start with the official Perry County Sheriff Illinois app, which the sheriff's office promotes for arrests and records. If the app does not show the person, call the jail at 618-357-6931 or the sheriff's office at 618-357-5212. For sentenced state prisoners, use the IDOC locator instead of any county channel.
Is there a public Perry County jail roster online?
No verified public web roster was found on the county or sheriff's official pages. A look-alike site appeared in search results but its records pointed to Tennessee, so it cannot be trusted for Illinois. The county directs people to its app, the jail phone line, and public-records requests instead.
Can I look up a released or past inmate?
Yes, but usually not through a current-custody channel. For a past county booking, file a written public-records request with the sheriff. For someone sentenced to state prison, search the IDOC locator, since the county jail is no longer the right place to look.
Why does the jail hold federal detainees?
The jail's 2024 state inspection says it houses detainees for the U.S. Marshals under contract and for nearby counties as needed. So a federal pre-trial defendant can physically sit in the Perry County Jail even though the federal case is tracked through federal systems.
Where do I look for a sentenced state prisoner?
Use the Illinois Department of Corrections Individual in Custody Search. Once a person is sentenced and transferred out of the county jail, IDOC becomes the custody source, and the facility may be Pinckneyville or another prison anywhere in the state.