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 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Orleans Parish, Louisiana, has about 363,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Orleans Parish is held at the parish jail, run by the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website, 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: Orleans Parish public records, Orleans Parish warrants, Orleans Parish criminal records, Orleans Parish court records, Orleans Parish police reports, Louisiana arrest records and Louisiana inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Orleans Parish
The parish jail, run by the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Orleans Parish, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website at opso.gov (page title: Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Orleans Parish Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 1,110 people, down from about 1,190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 2,081 beds, and it ran at 53 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Orleans Parish has about 363,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 31 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Orleans Parish Jail
The Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website and the agency that reports for New Orleans make the arrests that end in a booking in Orleans Parish.
The FBI's agency list also places six campus police departments in Orleans Parish.
New Orleans reported 14,694 arrests to the FBI for 2023. Those kept in custody were booked into the parish 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 Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections lists its inmates at doc.la.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Orleans Parish?
Ask the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office, LA | Official Website; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at opso.gov.
How many people are in the Orleans Parish jail?
About 1,110 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 2,081 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Orleans Parish go?
To a facility of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.la.gov.
Is this the official Orleans Parish website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official parish, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.