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 30, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
New York County, New York, has about 1.7 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in New York County is held by the New York City Department of Correction, which runs the jails for all five boroughs. 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: New York County public records, New York County arrest records, New York County warrants, New York County criminal records, New York County court records, New York arrest records and New York inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in New York County
New York County has no county jail. A person kept in custody after an arrest in New York County is held by the New York City Department of Correction, which runs the city's jails for all five boroughs.
SearchSystems opened and checked the page of the sheriff's office at nyc.gov/site/doc/inmate-info/inmate-lookup.page (page title: Department of Correction), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
The New York County Jail by the Numbers
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 6,710 people on an average day, up from about 2,590 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,509 beds, and it ran at 81 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
New York County has about 1.7 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 40 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in New York County: the Optometry State University of New York Police (campus police).
The New York City Police Department polices all five boroughs of New York City, New York County among them, and reports its arrests to the FBI as one agency, so they are not broken out for New York County here.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in New York 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 New York County?
Look on the custody page of the sheriff's office at nyc.gov. It covers people booked into the city jail system.
How many people are in the New York County jail?
About 6,710 on an average day so far in 2026, against a rated capacity of 1,509 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in New York 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 New York 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.