Reviewed and updated October 9, 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 September 25, 2026.
Payson, Arizona, in Gila County, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Payson is held at the county jail, run by the Gila 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: Payson public records, Gila County inmate search, Payson arrest records, Payson warrants, Payson criminal records, Payson court records, Arizona arrest records and Arizona inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Payson
The county jail, run by the Gila County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Payson, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Gila County Sheriff's Office at gilacountyaz.gov/government/sheriff/detention_bureau.php (page title: GIla County Sheriff Jail Bureau), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Gila County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 150 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 252 beds, and it ran at 58 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Gila County has about 54,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 27 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Gila County Jail
The Gila County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Payson (filed by the FBI as Payson Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Payson.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Gila County Sheriff's Office's 849 for 2025, Payson's 674 for 2025 and Globe's 457 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Gila County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,980 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.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Payson arrest records.
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 Payson?
Ask the Gila County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at gilacountyaz.gov.
How many people are in the Gila County jail?
About 150 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 252 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Gila 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 Payson website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.