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.
Clinton County, Michigan, has about 80,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Clinton County is held at the county jail, run by the Clinton 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: Clinton County public records, Clinton County arrest records, Clinton County warrants, Clinton County criminal records, Clinton County court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Clinton County
The county jail, run by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Clinton County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at clinton-county.org/m/directory/employee?eid=9 (page title: Staff Directory, Sheriff Dush), phone 989-224-5100, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 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 989-224-5100.
The Clinton County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2020 the jail held about 130 people, down from about 220 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 236 beds, and it ran at 93 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Clinton County has about 80,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 16 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Clinton County Jail
The Clinton County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for St. Johns, DeWitt, DeWitt (township), Ovid and Elsie make the arrests that end in a booking in Clinton County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Clinton County: the Clinton County State Police (state police); the Capitol Region Airport Authority (other agency).
The East Lansing Police Department and the Lansing Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Clinton County, so their arrests are not broken out for Clinton County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Clinton County Sheriff's Office's 285 for 2025, DeWitt (township)'s 154 for 2025 and Bath Township's 60 for 2025.
Together, the five agencies in Clinton County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 562 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 Clinton County 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 Clinton County?
Ask the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at 989-224-5100; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at clinton-county.org/m/directory/employee?eid=9.
How many people are in the Clinton County jail?
About 130 on an average day in 2020, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 236 beds.
What is the phone number for the Clinton County jail?
989-224-5100, the number on the page of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Clinton 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 Clinton 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.