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.
Columbia, Illinois, in Monroe County, has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Columbia is held at the county jail, run by the Monroe 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: Columbia public records, Monroe County inmate search, Columbia arrest records, Columbia warrants, Columbia property records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Columbia
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Columbia is held at the county jail, run by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search (page title: Offender Search | mcso-html), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Monroe County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 11 people, down from about 35 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 42 beds, and it ran at 83 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Monroe County has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 3 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Monroe County Jail
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Columbia (filed by the FBI as Columbia Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Columbia.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Monroe County Sheriff's Office's 164 for 2025, Valmeyer's 5 for 2024 and Waterloo's 0 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies in Monroe County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 117 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 Columbia 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 Monroe County serves the sentence in a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Columbia?
Ask the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at monroecosheriffga.us/offender-search.
How many people are in the Monroe County jail?
About 11 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 42 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Monroe County go?
To a facility of the Illinois Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Is this the official Columbia 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.