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 on September 23, 2026.
Monterey County, California, has about 436,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Monterey County is held at the county jail, run by the Monterey 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: Monterey County public records, Monterey County arrest records, Monterey County warrants, Monterey County criminal records, Monterey County court records, California arrest records and California inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Monterey County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Monterey County is held at the county jail, run by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office at countyofmonterey.gov/Home/Components/ServiceDirectory/ServiceDirect... (page title: County Jail Booking Information | County Services | County of Monterey, CA), phone (831) 755-3782, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Monterey County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 820 people, down from about 860 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,224 beds, and it ran at 74 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Monterey County has about 436,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 19 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Monterey County Jail
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Salinas, Seaside, Monterey, Soledad, Marina, Greenfield and six more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Monterey County.
The FBI's agency list also places one other agency, two state agencies and one campus police department in Monterey County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Salinas's 2,171 for 2025, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office's 812 for 2025 and Monterey's 760 for 2025.
Together, the 13 agencies in Monterey County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,756 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 Monterey County 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 Monterey 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 Monterey County?
Look on the custody page of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office at countyofmonterey.gov, or call (831) 755-3782. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Monterey County jail?
About 820 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 1,224 beds.
What is the phone number for the Monterey County jail?
(831) 755-3782, the number on the page of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Monterey 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 Monterey 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.