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 2, 2026.
Portage, Michigan, in Kalamazoo County, has about 50,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Portage is held at the county jail, run by the Kalamazoo 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: Portage public records, Kalamazoo County inmate search, Portage arrest records, Portage warrants, Portage criminal records, Portage court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Portage
The county jail, run by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Portage, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office at kalcounty.gov/1215/Inmate-Search (page title: Inmate Search | Kalamazoo County, MI), phone 269-488-8911, 1500 Lamont Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49048, 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 Kalamazoo County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 300 people, down from about 390 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 482 beds, and it ran at 62 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Kalamazoo County has about 265,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Kalamazoo County Jail
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Portage (filed by the FBI as Portage Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Portage.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Kalamazoo County: Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University (campus police); the Kalamazoo County State Police (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Kalamazoo's 2,303 for 2025, Portage's 1,021 for 2025 and Kalamazoo (township)'s 980 for 2025.
Together, the nine agencies in Kalamazoo County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,739 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 Portage arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Michigan Department of Corrections lists its inmates at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Portage?
Look on the custody page of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office at kalcounty.gov/1215/Inmate-Search, or call 269-488-8911. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Kalamazoo County jail?
About 300 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 482 beds.
What is the phone number for the Kalamazoo County jail?
269-488-8911, the number on the page of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Kalamazoo County go?
To a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Is this the official Portage 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.