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 on September 23, 2026.
Kankakee County, Illinois, has about 106,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Kankakee County is held at the county jail, run by the Kankakee 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: Kankakee County public records, Kankakee County arrest records, Kankakee County warrants, Kankakee County criminal records, Kankakee County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Kankakee County
The county jail, run by the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Kankakee County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office at kankakeecountysheriff.com/inmate-search (page title: Inmate Search | Kankakee County Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Kankakee County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 620 people, up from about 600 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 700 beds, and it ran at 88 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Kankakee County has about 106,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 58 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Kankakee County Jail
The Kankakee County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Kankakee, Bourbonnais, Bradley, Manteno, Momence, Herscher and three more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Kankakee County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Kankakee County: Kankakee Community College (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Bradley's 402 for 2025, Bourbonnais's 159 for 2025 and the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office's 157 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Kankakee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 841 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 Kankakee 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 Kankakee County?
Look on the custody page of the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office at kankakeecountysheriff.com/inmate-search. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Kankakee County jail?
About 620 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 700 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Kankakee 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 Kankakee 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.