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 9, 2026.
Sterling Heights, Michigan, in Macomb County, has about 134,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Sterling Heights is held at the county jail, run by the Macomb 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: Sterling Heights public records, Macomb County inmate search, Sterling Heights arrest records, Sterling Heights warrants, Sterling Heights criminal records, Sterling Heights court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Sterling Heights
The county jail, run by the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Sterling Heights, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office at macombgov.org/departments/sheriffs-office/locate-inmate (page title: Locate an inmate), phone 586-469-5151, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Macomb County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 910 people, down from about 1,030 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,082 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Macomb County has about 886,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 10 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Macomb County Jail
The Macomb County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Sterling Heights (filed by the FBI as Sterling Heights Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Sterling Heights.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Macomb County: the Macomb County State Police (state police); Macomb Community College (campus police); the Stony Creek Metropark Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (other agency).
The Grosse Pointe Shores Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Macomb County, so its arrests are not broken out for Macomb County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Warren's 3,561 for 2025, Sterling Heights's 2,038 for 2025 and Roseville's 1,310 for 2025.
Together, the 16 agencies in Macomb County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 12,850 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 Sterling Heights 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 Sterling Heights?
Look on the custody page of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office at macombgov.org, or call 586-469-5151. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Macomb County jail?
About 910 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 1,082 beds.
What is the phone number for the Macomb County jail?
586-469-5151, the number on the page of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Macomb 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 Sterling Heights 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.