Search the Forrest County Inmate Population

The Forrest County Inmate Population

The Forrest County inmate population is split between two very different custody systems. The Forrest County Adult Detention Center is the local jail run by the Forrest County Sheriff's Office. It holds adult pretrial detainees, people serving county jail sentences, trustee populations, and people waiting on bond, transfer, or another agency's hold. The Mississippi Department of Corrections also operates the Forrest County CWC (Recidivism Reduction Program), a state community work center for MDOC-assigned inmates. Those state inmates are not part of the sheriff's current jail roster.

Population counts rise and fall for reasons that do not always show up on a roster screen. Arrest volume, first-appearance timing, bond decisions, holds from another agency, sentencing, state intake, and release processing all affect the local count. The roster is the practical way to find a current county inmate, but Vera's county dataset is the better source for annual jail population, rated capacity, admissions, and pretrial totals. Court records then explain the formal charges that follow a booking.

The Forrest County Sheriff's Office homepage is a useful starting point because it links to the roster, public records, wanted notices, and detention information. The screenshot below comes from the Forrest County Sheriff's Office homepage.

The sheriff site is the official local doorway, while state and federal locators are used only when the person is outside county custody.

Forrest County Inmate Population Statistics

The latest extracted Vera Institute county row in the research file is 2023. Vera reports a Forrest County jail population of 282, rated capacity of 600, and 778 jail admissions for that year. The sheriff's current site does not publish a live rated capacity, so the capacity number should be read as a dataset figure, not a daily jail dashboard. The same row shows 236 people in total pretrial custody, which means most of the 2023 jail population was unsentenced or awaiting case resolution.

Forrest County Inmate Population Trends

The Vera trend rows show a jail count under the reported rated capacity for each recent year extracted in the research. The 2023 count was close to 2022 and below the 2014 and 2019 rows. Admissions moved more sharply than the average population. That is common in jail datasets because many admissions are short stays, releases, transfers, bond-outs, or cases that move quickly through court. The 2020 row should be treated with caution because COVID-era jail operations changed booking and release patterns across the country.

Who Makes Up the Forrest County Inmate Population

The 2023 Vera row gives three useful population slices. First, the county jail total was 282. Second, the sex breakdown was 247 male and 35 female. Third, total pretrial custody was 236, which shows that the largest share of the Forrest County jail population was held before final sentence or disposition. The sheriff's detention page adds local housing clues: visitation is grouped by Females, T-pod, 102 Pod, ISO, OBS, 103 Pod, State Trustee, and Sheriff's Trustee categories.

• Pretrial custody: Vera reports 236 people in total pretrial custody in 2023.
• Male and female custody: Vera reports 247 male and 35 female jail inmates in 2023.
• Trustee status: The jail publishes separate visitation rules for State Trustee and Sheriff's Trustee groups.
• State custody: MDOC-assigned inmates at the CWC use the state locator, not the sheriff roster.
• Federal or immigration custody: No dedicated BOP or ICE detention facility was located in Forrest County.

Forrest County Jail Capacity

Vera reports a rated capacity of 600 for Forrest County in 2022 and 2023. With a 2023 jail population of 282, the dataset calculation is about 47 percent of rated capacity. That is not the same as a real-time pod count, and it does not prove that every housing unit had open beds. Classification, sex separation, medical observation, trustee placement, isolation, and holds can create local pressure even when a countywide annual number sits below capacity.

No official sheriff dashboard, current daily population page, construction plan, consent decree, or jail litigation item was located in the official material reviewed. The safer reading is narrow: the public can cite Vera for annual county jail data and should call the jail for current operational questions. The sheriff's page does publish rules for visitation, bond windows, mail, packages, phone/video service, and money deposits.

Laws Governing Forrest County Inmate Records

Mississippi law is the reason booking and jail records exist, but public access still has limits. The Mississippi Public Records Act starts with access unless another law provides an exemption. It also defines records broadly enough to include photographs and other retained materials. Separate jail statutes require the sheriff to keep a jail docket and address custody practices such as separation by sex. For Forrest County, that means the roster, booking records, jail docket entries, and some photos may be public records, but release can still depend on exemptions, redaction, juvenile status, active investigations, and the office that holds the record.

How to Search the Forrest County Inmate Population

The official current-custody route starts at the sheriff's Inmate Roster landing page, which says the link opens a complete roster of current inmates. That page sends users to the Public Safety Cloud/JailTracker roster. During research, text capture saw only a loading/error shell from the dynamic roster, so exact public form fields and profile fields should not be overstated. If the roster fails to load, the Adult Correctional Facility booking line is the first local fallback.

1. Open the sheriff's Inmate Roster page, then use the official JailTracker/Public Safety Cloud link.
2. Search or browse for the person's name if the roster interface loads.
3. If the name is missing, call the Adult Correctional Facility at (601) 545-6148 for current custody and booking questions.
4. Use the FCSO public-records request process for older booking records, reports, or copies not on the current roster.
5. Search MDOC, BOP, ICE ODLS, or VINELink when custody may have moved outside the county jail.

The sheriff's roster landing page is shown in the official roster screenshot below.

The landing page matters because it keeps the search path tied to the sheriff's official site rather than a commercial jail directory.

Current Forrest County Inmate Lookup

For a person held at the Adult Detention Center, use the county roster before checking state or federal systems. The roster covers current county jail custody, not a full archive of every past booking. The research did not find a published refresh schedule, released-inmate retention period, or text-exposed list of profile fields. That gap is important. A missing name may mean the person was just booked, released, transferred, entered under a different spelling, held as a juvenile, sent to a hospital or evaluation status, or moved to state, federal, or immigration custody.

What a Forrest County Inmate Record Shows

The official JailTracker roster did not expose its record fields in the text research, so the safest record inventory is a confirmed-versus-unconfirmed table. The sheriff confirms a complete current roster exists. The detention page confirms separate handling for booking, bond, visitation groups, mail/packages, phone/video service, and money deposits. It does not confirm which of those items appear on each roster profile.

State and Federal Inmate Search

Sentenced state custody is handled by the Mississippi Department of Corrections inmate search. MDOC accepts first name, last name, or MDOC ID number, and it is the proper route after a Forrest County case results in a state sentence and transfer. Federal sentenced custody uses the BOP inmate locator, which covers federal inmates from 1982 to present. Immigration custody uses ICE ODLS, with A-number/country or name/country/date-of-birth search paths described by USA.gov. VINELink is best for custody-status notification, not for a complete booking archive.

Forrest County Detention Facilities

Forrest County has one primary county jail and one state corrections facility in the Facility Map. The distinction is critical. A person arrested in Hattiesburg, Petal, or elsewhere in the county may be booked into the Adult Detention Center. A person already sentenced to MDOC custody may instead appear at the CWC or another state facility and should be searched through MDOC.

• Forrest County Adult Detention Center - county jail for adult pretrial detainees, county jail sentences, bondable custody, trustees, and transfer holds.
• Forrest County CWC (Recidivism Reduction Program) - MDOC community work center for state inmates assigned by the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Forrest County Public Records Requests

When a booking is no longer on the current roster, the public-records route becomes more important. The FCSO public records request page lists copy and processing costs. Black-and-white copies are $0.15 per page, color copies are $0.25 per page, search/review/reproduction/redaction may be billed at actual cost using the hourly rate of the lowest-paid qualified employee, and a USB flash drive up to 1GB or CD is $10 each plus other charges. Email files under 25MB are listed as no charge. Payment is required in advance by cash, check, or money order before copies or access are provided.

The screenshot below is from the FCSO public records request page.

For a stronger request, include the person's name, approximate booking date, date of birth if lawfully known, booking or case number if known, and the exact record requested.

Forrest County Custody Terms

Short definitions help keep the county roster, court records, and state locator separate.

Booking

Jail intake after arrest or commitment, including identity checks and custody processing.

Pretrial custody

Custody before a final case disposition, often while bond, holds, or court dates are pending.

Detainer

A hold or request from another agency that can affect release even when local bond is posted.

MDOC

The Mississippi Department of Corrections, which runs the state inmate locator and the Forrest County CWC.

Expunction

A court order removing eligible arrest or case records from public record under Mississippi law.

Forrest County Inmate Population FAQ

How big is the Forrest County inmate population?

Vera's 2023 county row reports a Forrest County jail population of 282 and a rated capacity of 600. That is an annual dataset figure, not a live head count from the sheriff's office.

How do I search the Forrest County inmate population?

Start with the sheriff's Inmate Roster page and its JailTracker/Public Safety Cloud link. If it does not load or the name is missing, call the Adult Correctional Facility at (601) 545-6148, then check MDOC, BOP, ICE, or VINELink if custody may have moved.

Can I look up a released or past inmate?

The sheriff's roster is described as a current-inmate roster. Older booking records or copies should be requested through the FCSO public-records process, with advance payment if costs apply.

Is the Forrest County CWC the county jail?

No. The CWC is an MDOC community work center for state inmates. Use the MDOC locator for that facility, not the county jail roster.