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 on September 23, 2026.
Van Buren County, Michigan, has about 76,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Van Buren County is held at the county jail, run by the Van Buren 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: Van Buren County public records, Van Buren County arrest records, Van Buren County warrants, Van Buren County criminal records, Van Buren County court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Van Buren County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Van Buren County is held at the county jail, run by the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office at vanburencountymi.gov/departments/sheriff/services/jail-inmate-infor... (page title: Jail & Inmate Information | Van Buren County), phone (269) 657-8200, 219 E Paw Paw Street Paw Paw, MI 49079-1429, Monday to Friday: 8:30 AM - 5 PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Van Buren County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 79 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 213 beds, and it ran at 84 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Van Buren County has about 76,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 10 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Van Buren County Jail
The Van Buren County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for South Haven, Paw Paw, Mattawan, Hartford, Bangor, Lawton and two more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Van Buren County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Van Buren County: the Van Buren County State Police (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office's 1,377 for 2024, South Haven's 307 for 2025 and Paw Paw's 183 for 2025.
Together, the nine agencies in Van Buren County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 713 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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren County?
Look on the custody page of the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office at vanburencountymi.gov, or call (269) 657-8200. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Van Buren County jail?
About 79 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 213 beds.
What is the phone number for the Van Buren County jail?
(269) 657-8200, the number on the page of the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Van Buren 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 Van Buren 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.