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.
Marion County, Illinois, has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Marion County is held at the county jail, run by the Marion 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: Marion County public records, Marion County arrest records, Marion County warrants, Marion County criminal records, Marion County court records, Illinois arrest records and Illinois inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Marion County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Marion County is held at the county jail, run by the Marion County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Marion County Sheriff's Office at inmateinfo.indy.gov/IML (page title: Inmate Lookup Tool), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 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 Marion County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 120 people. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Marion County has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 33 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Marion County Jail
The Marion County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Centralia, Salem, Sandoval, Central City, Patoka and Iuka make the arrests that end in a booking in Marion County.
The Wamac Police Department is listed by the FBI across three counties including Marion County, so its arrests are not broken out for Marion County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Central City's 1,152 for 2025, Centralia's 860 for 2025 and Salem's 173 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Marion County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,313 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 Marion 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 Marion 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 Marion County?
Look on the custody page of the Marion County Sheriff's Office at inmateinfo.indy.gov/IML. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Marion County jail?
About 120 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Marion 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 Marion 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.