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 30, 2026.
Jay County, Indiana, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Jay County is held at the county jail, run by the Jay 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: Jay County public records, Jay County arrest records, Jay County warrants, Jay County criminal records, Jay County court records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Jay County
The county jail, run by the Jay County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Jay County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Jay County Sheriff's Office at jaycountysheriff.com/jail-information (page title: Jail Information | Jay County Sheriff's Office), phone 866-340-7879, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 866-340-7879.
The Jay County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 83 people, down from about 110 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 114 beds, and it ran at 75 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Jay County has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 41 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Jay County Jail
The Jay County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Portland and Dunkirk make the arrests that end in a booking in Jay County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Dunkirk's 1,152 for 2025 and the Jay County Sheriff's Office's 120 for 2024.
Together, the two agencies in Jay County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 1,272 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 Jay 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 Indiana Department of Correction lists its inmates at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Jay County?
Ask the Jay County Sheriff's Office at 866-340-7879; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at jaycountysheriff.com/jail-information.
How many people are in the Jay County jail?
About 83 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 114 beds.
What is the phone number for the Jay County jail?
866-340-7879, the number on the page of the Jay County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Jay County go?
To a facility of the Indiana Department of Correction; its inmate locator is at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov.
Is this the official Jay 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.