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.
Chowchilla, California, in Madera County, has about 19,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Chowchilla is held at the county jail, run by the Madera 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: Chowchilla public records, Madera County inmate search, Chowchilla arrest records, Chowchilla warrants, Chowchilla criminal records, Chowchilla court records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Chowchilla
The county jail, run by the Madera County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Chowchilla, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Madera County Sheriff's Office at inmatepublicview.maderacounty.com (page title: Inmate Inquiry | Search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Madera County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 430 people, down from about 470 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 564 beds, and it ran at 73 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Madera County has about 165,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 26 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Madera County Jail
The Madera County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Chowchilla (filed by the FBI as Chowchilla Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Chowchilla.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Madera County: Union Pacific Railroad in Madera County (other agency); the Highway Patrol's Madera and Oakhurst Area Offices (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Madera's 2,339 for 2025, the Madera County Sheriff's Office's 1,186 for 2025 and Chowchilla's 888 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Madera County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,413 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 Chowchilla arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Madera County serves the sentence in a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Chowchilla?
Ask the Madera County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at inmatepublicview.maderacounty.com.
How many people are in the Madera County jail?
About 430 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 564 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Madera County go?
To a facility of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; its inmate locator is at cdcr.ca.gov/search.
Is this the official Chowchilla 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.