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.
Hamilton County, Illinois, has about 7,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hamilton County is held at the county jail, run by the Hamilton 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: Hamilton County public records, Hamilton County arrest records, Hamilton County warrants, Hamilton County criminal records, Hamilton County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Hamilton County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hamilton County is held at the county jail, run by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office at inmate.hamiltonsheriff.com/smartwebclient/jail.aspx (page title: JAIL View), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 2026.
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 Hamilton County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 16 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 19 beds, and it ran at 83 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Hamilton County has about 7,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 20 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Hamilton County Jail
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for McLeansboro make the arrests that end in a booking in Hamilton County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office's 16 for 2024 and McLeansboro's 14 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Hamilton County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 29 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County?
Look on the custody page of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office at inmate.hamiltonsheriff.com. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Hamilton County jail?
About 16 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 19 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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.