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 2, 2026.
Clayton County, Georgia, has about 298,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clayton County is held at the county jail, run by the Clayton County Police Department, 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: Clayton County public records, Clayton County arrest records, Clayton County warrants, Clayton County criminal records, Clayton County court records, Georgia arrest records and Georgia inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Clayton County
The county jail, run by the Clayton County Police Department, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Clayton County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Clayton County Police Department at claytonsheriff.com/clayton-county-inmate-search (page title: Clayton County Jail Inmate Search: Bookings & Records), phone (770) 477-4441, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
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 Clayton County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 1,380 people, down from about 1,930 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 1,426 beds, and it ran at 97 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Clayton County has about 298,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 46 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Clayton County Jail
The Clayton County Police Department and the agencies that report for Forest Park, Riverdale, Lovejoy, Morrow, Jonesboro and Lake City make the arrests that end in a booking in Clayton County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Clayton County: Clayton State University (campus police); Clayton County Schools (other agency).
The College Park Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Clayton County, so its arrests are not broken out for Clayton County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Clayton County Police Department's 5,866 for 2024, Forest Park's 1,723 for 2025 and Lovejoy's 1,152 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Clayton County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,499 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 Clayton County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Georgia Department of Corrections lists its inmates at gdc.georgia.gov/offender-info/find-offender.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Clayton County?
Look on the custody page of the Clayton County Police Department at claytonsheriff.com, or call (770) 477-4441. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Clayton County jail?
About 1,380 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 1,426 beds.
What is the phone number for the Clayton County jail?
(770) 477-4441, the number on the page of the Clayton County Police Department SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Clayton County go?
To a facility of the Georgia Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at gdc.georgia.gov/offender-info/find-offender.
Is this the official Clayton 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.