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.
Fall River, Massachusetts, in Bristol County, has about 95,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Fall River is held at the county jail, run by the Bristol 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: Fall River public records, Bristol County inmate search, Fall River arrest records, Fall River warrants, Fall River criminal records, Fall River court records, Massachusetts arrest records and Massachusetts inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Fall River
The county jail, run by the Bristol County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Fall River, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Bristol County Sheriff's Office at masssheriffs.org/bristol-county-sheriffs-office (page title: Bristol County Sheriff's Office), phone (508) 995-6400, 400 Faunce Corner Road North Dartmouth, MA 02747, 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 (508) 995-6400.
The Bristol County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 650 people, down from about 1,070 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,613 beds, and it ran at 40 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Bristol County has about 589,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Bristol County Jail
The Bristol County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Fall River (filed by the FBI as Fall River Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Fall River.
The FBI's agency list also places four campus police departments, one state agency and one state police unit in Bristol County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Fall River's 2,970 for 2025, New Bedford's 2,286 for 2025 and Taunton's 972 for 2025.
Together, the 19 agencies in Bristol County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,586 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 Fall River 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 Bristol County serves the sentence in a facility of the Massachusetts Department of Correction, whose inmate locator is at mass.gov/how-to/find-someone-housed-in-a-massachusetts-prison.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Fall River?
Ask the Bristol County Sheriff's Office at (508) 995-6400; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at masssheriffs.org.
How many people are in the Bristol County jail?
About 650 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 1,613 beds.
What is the phone number for the Bristol County jail?
(508) 995-6400, the number on the page of the Bristol County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Bristol County go?
To a facility of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; its inmate locator is at mass.gov.
Is this the official Fall River 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.