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 2, 2026.
Forrest County, Mississippi, has about 78,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Forrest County is held at the county jail, run by the Forrest 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: Forrest County public records, Forrest County arrest records, Forrest County warrants, Forrest County criminal records, Forrest County court records, Mississippi arrest records and Mississippi inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Forrest County
The county jail, run by the Forrest County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Forrest County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Forrest County Sheriff's Office at forrestcountysheriff.com/inmate-roster (page title: Inmate Roster), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Forrest County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 280 people, down from about 300 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 600 beds, and it ran at 47 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Forrest County has about 78,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 36 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Forrest County Jail
The Forrest County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Hattiesburg and Petal make the arrests that end in a booking in Forrest County.
The FBI's agency list also places two campus police departments, two other agencies and two state agencies in Forrest County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Hattiesburg's 1,333 for 2025, the Forrest County Sheriff's Office's 277 for 2025 and Petal's 246 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Forrest County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,856 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 Forrest 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 Forrest County?
Look on the custody page of the Forrest County Sheriff's Office at forrestcountysheriff.com/inmate-roster. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Forrest County jail?
About 280 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 600 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Forrest 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 Forrest 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.