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 October 9, 2026.
Lee County, Florida, has about 861,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lee County is held at the county jail, run by the Lee 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: Lee County public records, Lee County arrest records, Lee County warrants, Lee County criminal records, Lee County court records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lee County
The county jail, run by the Lee County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Lee County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lee County Sheriff's Office at sheriffleefl.org/arrest-search (page title: Arrest Search | Lee County Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Lee County Jail by the Numbers
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 1,580 people on an average day, down from about 1,710 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 2,009 beds, and it ran at 77 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lee County has about 861,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 18 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lee County Jail
The Lee County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Sanibel make the arrests that end in a booking in Lee County.
The FBI's agency list also places one other agency, seven state agencies, two campus police departments and one state police unit in Lee County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Lee County Sheriff's Office's 13,047 for 2025, Cape Coral's 2,654 for 2022 and Fort Myers's 2,238 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Lee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 15,416 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 Lee 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 Lee County serves the sentence in a facility of the Florida Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at fdc.myflorida.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Lee County?
Ask the Lee County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriffleefl.org/arrest-search.
How many people are in the Lee County jail?
About 1,580 on an average day so far in 2026, against a rated capacity of 2,009 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lee County go?
To a facility of the Florida Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at fdc.myflorida.com.
Is this the official Lee 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.