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.
Clare County, Michigan, has about 31,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clare County is held at the county jail, run by the Clare 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: Clare County public records, Clare County arrest records, Clare County warrants, Clare County criminal records, Clare County court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Clare County
The county jail, run by the Clare County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Clare County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Clare County Sheriff's Office at clareco.net/department/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Clare County Michigan), phone (989) 539-7166, 255 West Main Street, Harrison, MI 48625, Monday-Friday between 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 (989) 539-7166.
The Clare County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2020 the jail held about 110 people, down from about 170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 176 beds, and it ran at 95 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Clare County has about 31,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 35 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Clare County Jail
The Clare County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Clare make the arrests that end in a booking in Clare County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Clare County: the Clare County State Police (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Clare County Sheriff's Office's 653 for 2025 and Clare's 81 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Clare County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 734 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 Clare 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 Clare County serves the sentence in a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Clare County?
Ask the Clare County Sheriff's Office at (989) 539-7166; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clareco.net/department/sheriff.
How many people are in the Clare County jail?
About 110 on an average day in 2020, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 176 beds.
What is the phone number for the Clare County jail?
(989) 539-7166, the number on the page of the Clare County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Clare 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 Clare 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.