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.
Clinton County, Illinois, has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clinton County is held at the county jail, run by the Clinton 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: Clinton County public records, Clinton County arrest records, Clinton County warrants, Clinton County criminal records, Clinton County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Clinton County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clinton County is held at the county jail, run by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at clintonco.illinois.gov/county-offices/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Clinton County, Illinois), phone (618) 594-4555, 810 Franklin Street Carlyle, IL 62231, Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at (618) 594-4555.
The Clinton County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 50 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 54 beds, and it ran at 93 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Clinton County has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 13 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Clinton County Jail
The Clinton County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Breese, New Baden, Carlyle, Trenton, Aviston, Germantown and three more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Clinton County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Clinton County: Kaskaskia College (campus police).
The Centralia Police Department is listed by the FBI across three counties including Clinton County, so its arrests are not broken out for Clinton County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Wamac's 1,152 for 2025, the Clinton County Sheriff's Office's 171 for 2025 and Carlyle's 60 for 2025.
Together, the nine agencies in Clinton County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,463 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 Clinton 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 Illinois Department of Corrections lists its inmates at idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Clinton County?
Ask the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at (618) 594-4555; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clintonco.illinois.gov/county-offices/sheriff.
How many people are in the Clinton County jail?
About 50 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 54 beds.
What is the phone number for the Clinton County jail?
(618) 594-4555, the number on the page of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Clinton 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 Clinton 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.