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 23, 2026 and September 28, 2026.
Mount Vernon, Ohio, in Knox County, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Mount Vernon is held at the county jail, run by the Knox 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: Mount Vernon public records, Knox County inmate search, Mount Vernon arrest records, Mount Vernon warrants, Mount Vernon criminal records, Mount Vernon court records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Mount Vernon
The county jail, run by the Knox County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Mount Vernon, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Knox County Sheriff's Office at knoxsheriff.org (page title: Knox County Sheriff's Office), phone 888-868-4631, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 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 888-868-4631.
The Knox County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 87 people, up from about 85 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 100 beds, and it ran at 87 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Knox County has about 64,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 14 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Knox County Jail
The Knox County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Mount Vernon (filed by the FBI as Mount Vernon Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Mount Vernon.
The Utica Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Knox County, so its arrests are not broken out for Knox County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Mount Vernon's 384 for 2025, the Knox County Sheriff's Office's 162 for 2025 and Danville's 7 for 2023.
Together, the three agencies in Knox County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 290 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 Mount Vernon 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 Knox County serves the sentence in a facility of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, whose inmate locator is at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Mount Vernon?
Ask the Knox County Sheriff's Office at 888-868-4631; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at knoxsheriff.org.
How many people are in the Knox County jail?
About 87 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 100 beds.
What is the phone number for the Knox County jail?
888-868-4631, the number on the page of the Knox County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Knox County go?
To a facility of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; its inmate locator is at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
Is this the official Mount Vernon website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.