Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026.
Maricopa County, Arizona, has about 4.7 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Maricopa County is held at the county jail, run by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Maricopa County public records, Maricopa County warrants, Maricopa County criminal records, Maricopa County court records, Maricopa County police reports, Arizona arrest records and Arizona inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Maricopa County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Maricopa County is held at the county jail, run by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office at mcso.org/InmateInfo (page title: InmateInfo | Maricopa County Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Maricopa County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 6,940 people, down from about 7,460 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 8,925 beds, and it ran at 76 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Maricopa County has about 4.7 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 15 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Maricopa County Jail
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale and 12 more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Maricopa County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Maricopa County: Maricopa Community College and Arizona State University's Main Campus (campus police).
The Apache Junction Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Maricopa County, so its arrests are not broken out for Maricopa County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Phoenix's 52,562 for 2025, Mesa's 18,362 for 2025 and Glendale's 9,226 for 2025.
Together, the 16 agencies in Maricopa County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 122,747 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry lists its inmates at corrections.az.gov/inmate-data-search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Maricopa County?
Look on the custody page of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office at mcso.org/InmateInfo. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Maricopa County jail?
About 6,940 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 8,925 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Maricopa County go?
To a facility of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry; its inmate locator is at corrections.az.gov/inmate-data-search.
Is this the official Maricopa County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.