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.
Cortland County, New York, has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cortland County is held at the county jail, run by the Cortland 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: Cortland County public records, Cortland County arrest records, Cortland County warrants, Cortland County criminal records, Cortland County court records, New York arrest records and New York inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Cortland County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Cortland County is held at the county jail, run by the Cortland County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Cortland County Sheriff's Office at cortlandcountysheriffny.gov (page title: Cortland County Sheriff (NY)), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Cortland County Jail by the Numbers
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 59 people on an average day, up from about 57 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 89 beds, and it ran at 64 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cortland County has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 13 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cortland County Jail
The Cortland County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Cortland make the arrests that end in a booking in Cortland County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Cortland County: the Cortland State University of New York Police (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Cortland's 687 for 2025, the Cortland County Sheriff's Office's 409 for 2025 and Homer Village's 25 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Cortland County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,121 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 Cortland 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 New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision lists its inmates at nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Cortland County?
Ask the Cortland County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at cortlandcountysheriffny.gov.
How many people are in the Cortland County jail?
About 59 on an average day so far in 2026, against a rated capacity of 89 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cortland County go?
To a facility of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision; its inmate locator is at nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov.
Is this the official Cortland 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.