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.
Lee County, North Carolina, has about 69,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lee County is held at the county jail, run by the Lee 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: Lee County public records, Lee County arrest records, Lee County warrants, Lee County criminal records, Lee County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lee County
The county jail, run by the Lee County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Lee County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lee County Sheriff's Office at leecountync.gov/lee_county_jail/index.php (page title: Lee County), phone 919-718-4567, 1408 South Horner Blvd Sanford, NC 27330, Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 919-718-4567.
The Lee County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 110 people, down from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2022, the last year with a capacity figure, was 126 beds, and it ran at 104 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lee County has about 69,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 16 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lee County Jail
The Lee County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Sanford and Broadway make the arrests that end in a booking in Lee County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Lee County Sheriff's Office's 955 for 2025, Sanford's 761 for 2025 and Broadway's 37 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Lee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,753 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 Lee 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 Lee County serves the sentence in a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, whose inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Lee County?
Ask the Lee County Sheriff's Office at 919-718-4567; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at leecountync.gov/lee_county_jail/index.php.
How many people are in the Lee County jail?
About 110 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 126 beds.
What is the phone number for the Lee County jail?
919-718-4567, the number on the page of the Lee County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lee County go?
To a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; its inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov.
Is this the official Lee 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.