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 28, 2026.
Cole County, Missouri, has about 78,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cole County is held at the county jail, run by the Cole 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: Cole County public records, Cole County arrest records, Cole County warrants, Cole County criminal records, Cole County court records, Missouri arrest records and Missouri inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Cole County
The county jail, run by the Cole County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Cole County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Cole County Sheriff's Office at colecounty.org/245/Jail (page title: Jail | Cole County, MO), phone 573-634-9160, 350 E High Street Jefferson City, MO 65101, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 573-634-9160.
The Cole County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2022 the jail held about 160 people, down from about 180 in 2018. Its rated capacity in 2022 was 208 beds, and it ran at 75 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cole County has about 78,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 20 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cole County Jail
The Cole County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Jefferson City make the arrests that end in a booking in Cole County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Cole County: the Marshal's Office's 19th Judicial District (other agency); the Capitol Police (state agency); Lincoln University (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Jefferson City's 1,602 for 2025 and the Cole County Sheriff's Office's 393 for 2022.
Jefferson City reported 1,990 arrests to the FBI for 2024. 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 Cole 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 Cole County serves the sentence in a facility of the Missouri Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Cole County?
Ask the Cole County Sheriff's Office at 573-634-9160; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at colecounty.org/245/Jail.
How many people are in the Cole County jail?
About 160 on an average day in 2022, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 208 beds.
What is the phone number for the Cole County jail?
573-634-9160, the number on the page of the Cole County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cole County go?
To a facility of the Missouri Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Is this the official Cole 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.