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 1, 2026.
Effingham County, Illinois, has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Effingham County is held at the county jail, run by the Effingham 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: Effingham County public records, Effingham County arrest records, Effingham County warrants, Effingham County criminal records, Effingham County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Effingham County
The county jail, run by the Effingham County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Effingham County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Effingham County Sheriff's Office at inmates.bluhorse.com/Default.aspx?ID=ECJ (page title: Jail Management), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Effingham County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 51 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 63 beds, and it ran at 81 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Effingham County has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 15 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Effingham County Jail
The Effingham County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Effingham, Altamont and Teutopolis make the arrests that end in a booking in Effingham County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Teutopolis's 1,152 for 2025, Effingham's 566 for 2025 and the Effingham County Sheriff's Office's 212 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Effingham County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,952 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 Effingham 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 Effingham 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 Effingham County?
Ask the Effingham County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at inmates.bluhorse.com/Default.aspx?ID=ECJ.
How many people are in the Effingham County jail?
About 51 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 63 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Effingham 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 Effingham 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.