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 25, 2026.
Portsmouth, Ohio, in Scioto County, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Portsmouth is held at the county jail, run by the Scioto 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: Portsmouth public records, Scioto County inmate search, Portsmouth arrest records, Portsmouth warrants, Portsmouth criminal records, Portsmouth court records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Portsmouth
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Portsmouth is held at the county jail, run by the Scioto County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Scioto County Sheriff's Office at sciotocountysheriff.org (page title: Sheriff | Scioto County Sheriff | Portsmouth), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Scioto County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 150 people, up from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 139 beds, and it ran at 107 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Scioto County has about 72,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 21 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Scioto County Jail
The Scioto County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Portsmouth (filed by the FBI as Portsmouth Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Portsmouth.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Scioto County: Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Task Force (other agency); Shawnee State University (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Portsmouth's 615 for 2025, New Boston's 211 for 2025 and the Scioto County Sheriff's Office's 193 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Scioto County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,019 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 Portsmouth 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 Scioto 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 Portsmouth?
Ask the Scioto County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sciotocountysheriff.org.
How many people are in the Scioto County jail?
About 150 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 139 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Scioto 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 Portsmouth 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.