Perry County Jail Records Overview
The Perry County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail in Pinckneyville and is the custodian for its booking and custody records. Sheriff Chad Howard leads the office, and the jail is overseen day to day by a jail administrator. The county does not publish a verified public web roster on its official pages. Instead, the sheriff's page tells people to download its app to view arrests and records, and the jail and records channels handle the rest.
The county jail does not track everyone. Once a person is sentenced to state prison, their record moves to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Federal defendants are tracked by federal agencies even when the jail physically holds them under a U.S. Marshals contract. So a complete Perry County inmate records search often means checking more than one system, and knowing which one fits the person's custody level.
The Perry County Jail Roster Online
Research did not turn up a verified public Perry County, Illinois jail roster on the county or sheriff's official sites. A page that looked like a Perry County sheriff portal showed up in search results, but its entries referenced Tennessee towns and Tennessee corrections, so it is the wrong jurisdiction and should not be used. This matters because Perry County is also the name of counties in other states, and a wrong-state roster is an easy trap.
What the county does offer is the official Perry County Sheriff Illinois app, promoted on the sheriff's page for arrests and records. The app's store listings confirm features for reporting crimes, submitting tips, and receiving public-safety news, but the exact record screens could not be inspected in a browser. Treat any roster or photo feature in the app as the county's preferred channel, and verify by phone when the answer matters.
| Access Item | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| App search and download | App install | Perry County Sheriff Illinois, on Apple and Google stores |
| App feature set | App menu | Arrests and records access, tips, crime reporting, news |
| Emergency reporting | Notice | Not for emergencies; call 911 instead |
The app is listed on the Apple App Store as Perry County Sheriff Illinois, published under the sheriff's office.
If the app does not show the person you want, the jail phone line and a records request are the reliable next steps.
How to Look Up a Perry County Inmate
Because there is no single roster page, a Perry County inmate search works best as an ordered set of channels. Start at the top and move down only when a step comes up empty. Before you begin, have the person's full legal name and, if you can, a date of birth and the arrest date.
- Open 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 to ask about current custody.
- Ask whether the record is county, U.S. Marshals, state, or out-of-county, since that decides where to look next.
- For a sentenced state prisoner, search the IDOC Individual in Custody locator instead of any county channel.
- For a past booking or a detail not released by phone, file a written public-records request with the sheriff.
Note: No official source states how fast a new booking appears in the app, so if a recent arrest is not listed yet, call the jail rather than assuming the person is not there.
Jail Phone Line and In-Person Records
The jail phone line is the most direct way to confirm current custody in Perry County. The 2024 state inspection lists the jail phone as 618-357-6931 and the sheriff's office as 618-357-5212. Detention runs 24 hours a day, but public-counter and records hours can be shorter, and the county generally keeps weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Calling first avoids a wasted trip downtown.
When you call, ask plainly whether the person is in custody, whether they were released, transferred to state prison, moved to another county, held for the U.S. Marshals, or taken to court. Those answers point you to the right next system. The sheriff's office can also explain how to request records that are not released over the phone.
Request Perry County Booking Records
When current channels do not show enough, a written public-records request under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act is the formal route. The county tells requesters to send the request to the agency that actually holds the record, which for jail booking sheets, intake charges, and booking photos is usually the sheriff or jail, not the county clerk. The county FOIA officer is listed as Charles Genesio at foia@perrycountyil.gov, and that address is a good place to ask for routing.
Written requests are required, and the county form is optional but helpful. The normal response time is five working days after the agency receives the request, with a possible five-working-day extension for large or hard-to-gather files, and a longer process for commercial-purpose requests. A clear request names the person, the booking or arrest date, the arresting agency, and the exact records you want.
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, not a live web page. They describe the administrative record a jail must keep for each detainee. Some can be released through a records request, but their appearance on any public roster is not confirmed.
| Field | 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 under current law; public posting not confirmed. |
| Property receipt | A signed, itemized list of money and belongings taken at intake. |
| Medical and mental-health screening | Intake screening for injury, illness, medication, and risk. |
| Case disposition and court | A record of the judge, court, and case outcome where kept. |
| Release date, time, and authority | When and by whose order a person was released or transferred. |
Booking photos for current detainees, if any are shown, would belong to the sheriff app rather than a public web roster. The separate Perry County jail mugshots page covers how booking photos work and how to request one.
Booking Process in Perry County
Booking is more than data entry, and the state inspection standards spell out the steps. A city officer, sheriff's deputy, state trooper, or federal authority can bring a person to the jail. Receiving staff check the legality of the confinement, verify identity, conduct an immediate pat-down search, and take fingerprints and a photograph under current law. Property and medication are logged on a signed receipt, and intake includes a medical and mental-health screen for injury, illness, medication, and risk.
After screening, detainees shower, receive bedding and supplies, and are classified for housing. Perry County runs one detention floor with double cells, detention rooms, and one eight-person dorm, and classification follows separation rules for sex, charged versus convicted, and mental-health needs. A first court appearance follows, where release conditions or detention are addressed under Illinois law.
Finding Perry County and State Inmates
Matching the person to the right system is the whole game. The county jail covers pre-trial detainees and short county sentences. Sentenced felons move to the Illinois Department of Corrections and its statewide locator. Federal inmates are tracked by the Bureau of Prisons, while federal pre-trial custody runs through the U.S. Marshals, who contract with the Perry County Jail for housing. Immigration detainees use a separate federal locator.
| Custody | Where to Look |
|---|---|
| Pre-trial / short sentence | Sheriff app, jail phone, records request |
| Sentenced felon | Illinois Department of Corrections locator |
| Federal sentenced | Federal Bureau of Prisons locator |
| Federal pre-trial | U.S. Marshals, Southern District of Illinois |
| Immigration hold | ICE detainee locator |
Use the IDOC Individual in Custody Search for state prisoners and the federal Bureau of Prisons locator for federal inmates. The federal locator takes a number search or a name search with race, sex, and age filters.
| 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 / Middle Name | Text | No | Narrows the name search |
| Race / Sex / Age | Filters | No | Helpful for common names |
Federal pre-trial custody needs its own call. The U.S. Marshals for the Southern District of Illinois keep a district office at 750 Missouri Ave., E. St. Louis, IL 62201, reachable at 618-482-9336. Because the agency houses federal pre-trial prisoners in state, local, and private jails, a federal defendant can sit inside the Perry County Jail before the federal Bureau of Prisons ever lists them. For immigration custody, the ICE detainee locator covers people in ICE custody, with a name search that uses country of birth and date of birth when an A-number is not known.
Perry County Custody Notifications
For families who want to know about a custody change without calling every day, Illinois VINE offers free custody status and case notifications. It is a notification service, not a court record or a substitute for the jail's own confirmation. It can be a useful backstop when a person may be released or moved.
The state service is reached through the Illinois VINE page, where users can register for alerts.
VINE alerts work best alongside a direct call to the jail when timing is important, such as a planned release.
Perry County Jail Contact and Facilities
The county jail is the local pre-trial facility, and the two state corrections settings in the county are reached through IDOC. The contact card below covers the main jail; the Perry County Jail facility page goes deeper on lookups and visiting there.
Perry County Jail
12 E. Water St.
Pinckneyville, IL 62274
618-357-6931
Sheriff's office: 618-357-5212
Records / FOIA
Perry County Sheriff's Office
P.O. Box 350, Pinckneyville, IL 62274
Fax 618-357-3606
foia@perrycountyil.gov
Perry County Jail Visitation and Mail
Contact with a Perry County detainee runs through assigned vendors rather than a walk-up window. The 2024 state inspection says telephone, texting on a device the report calls a chirper, video visits, and tablet email are provided by Combined Public Communications, with commissary by Stellar. A separate vendor page also lists a video visitation system that asks visitors to register at no cost, so the active vendor should be confirmed with the jail before you set up an account.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Phone, text, video, tablet | Combined Public Communications, per the 2024 inspection |
| Video visitation registration | Vendor page lists The Visitor; register at no cost |
| Commissary | Stellar, per the 2024 inspection |
| Mail format | Confirm the current format with the jail before sending |
The video visitation vendor page for the Perry County Sheriff's Office video visitation system describes onsite and offsite visit options.
Because sources name more than one vendor over time, confirm the current platform and schedule with the jail before registering.
Note: Confirm a person's custody status with the jail before sending money or scheduling a visit, since holds, transfers, and court dates can move someone with little notice.
Commissary and Inmate Funds
The jail's commissary is run by Stellar, according to the 2024 inspection, and communication services run through Combined Public Communications. Specific deposit limits and fees were not published in the inspection, so confirm current amounts with the jail or the vendor before sending money. State jail standards require commissary prices in line with local stores and an annual audit, which gives a sense of the rules even where exact prices are not posted online.
Commissary and phone accounts are separate from any court release condition. Paying into a commissary or phone account does not post bond or secure release, and families should keep the two apart when a person is in custody.