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 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Penobscot County, Maine, has about 157,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Penobscot County is held at the county jail, run by the Penobscot 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: Penobscot County public records, Penobscot County arrest records, Penobscot County warrants, Penobscot County criminal records, Penobscot County court records, Maine arrest records and Maine inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Penobscot County
The county jail, run by the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Penobscot County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office at penobscot-sheriff.net/inmates (page title: Inmate Search | Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Penobscot County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 140 people, down from about 190 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 157 beds, and it ran at 122 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Penobscot County has about 157,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 9 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Penobscot County Jail
The Penobscot County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Bangor, Brewer and Old Town make the arrests that end in a booking in Penobscot County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Penobscot County: the University of Maine at Orono (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Bangor's 1,768 for 2025, the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office's 508 for 2025 and Brewer's 315 for 2025.
Together, the 12 agencies in Penobscot County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,398 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 Penobscot 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 Penobscot County serves the sentence in a facility of the Maine Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at apps1.web.maine.gov/online/correctionssearch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Penobscot County?
Look on the custody page of the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office at penobscot-sheriff.net/inmates. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Penobscot County jail?
About 140 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 157 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Penobscot County go?
To a facility of the Maine Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at apps1.web.maine.gov/online/correctionssearch.
Is this the official Penobscot 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.