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 September 25, 2026.
Valparaiso, Indiana, in Porter County, has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Valparaiso is held at the county jail, run by the Porter 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: Valparaiso public records, Porter County inmate search, Valparaiso arrest records, Valparaiso warrants, Valparaiso criminal records, Valparaiso court records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Valparaiso
The county jail, run by the Porter County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Valparaiso, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Porter County Sheriff's Office at portercountysheriff.com/whosinjail (page title: Who's In Jail | Porter County Sheriff’s Office IN), 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 Porter County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 370 people, up from about 330 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 449 beds, and it ran at 82 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Porter County has about 176,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 21 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Porter County Jail
The Porter County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Valparaiso (filed by the FBI as Valparaiso Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Valparaiso.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Portage's 1,410 for 2025, Hebron's 1,152 for 2025 and Valparaiso's 1,138 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Porter County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,853 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 Valparaiso 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 Porter County serves the sentence in a facility of the Indiana Department of Correction, whose inmate locator is at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Valparaiso?
Look on the custody page of the Porter County Sheriff's Office at portercountysheriff.com/whosinjail. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Porter County jail?
About 370 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 449 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Porter County go?
To a facility of the Indiana Department of Correction; its inmate locator is at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov.
Is this the official Valparaiso website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.