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 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
DeSoto County, Mississippi, has about 196,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in DeSoto County is held at the county jail, run by the DeSoto 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: DeSoto County public records, DeSoto County arrest records, DeSoto County warrants, DeSoto County police reports, DeSoto County property records, Mississippi arrest records and Mississippi inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in DeSoto County
The county jail, run by the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in DeSoto County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office at desotocountyms.gov/342/Sheriff-Thomas-E-Tuggle (page title: Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle II | DeSoto County, MS), 3091 Industrial Drive W Hernando, MS 38632, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The DeSoto County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 450 people, up from about 390 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 568 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
DeSoto County has about 196,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 23 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the DeSoto County Jail
The DeSoto County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Southaven, Olive Branch, Horn Lake, Hernando and Walls make the arrests that end in a booking in DeSoto County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in DeSoto County: Northwest Mississippi Community College at Desoto (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office's 4,128 for 2025, Southaven's 2,729 for 2025 and Hernando's 1,547 for 2025.
Together, the five agencies in DeSoto County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,326 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 DeSoto 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 Mississippi Department of Corrections lists its inmates at mdoc.ms.gov/inmate_search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in DeSoto County?
Ask the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at desotocountyms.gov.
How many people are in the DeSoto County jail?
About 450 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 568 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in DeSoto County go?
To a facility of the Mississippi Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at mdoc.ms.gov/inmate_search.
Is this the official DeSoto 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.