Reviewed and updated October 11, 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 11, 2026.
Erie County, Ohio, has about 74,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Erie County is held at the county jail, run by the Erie 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: Erie County public records, Erie County arrest records, Erie County warrants, Erie County criminal records, Erie County court records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Erie County
The county jail, run by the Erie County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Erie County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Erie County Sheriff's Office at eriecounty.oh.gov/JailFAQs.aspx (page title: Jail FAQs), phone 800-844-6591, 2800 Columbus Avenue Sandusky, OH 44870, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 11, 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 800-844-6591.
The Erie County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 110 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 111 beds, and it ran at 113 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Erie County has about 74,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 14 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Erie County Jail
The Erie County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Sandusky, Huron, Milan, Berlin Heights, Bay View and Kelleys Island make the arrests that end in a booking in Erie County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Erie County: Erie Metroparks (other agency).
The Vermilion Police Department and the Bellevue Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Erie County, so their arrests are not broken out for Erie County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Kelleys Island's 1,152 for 2025, Berlin Heights's 1,152 for 2025 and Sandusky's 1,107 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Erie County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,468 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 Erie 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 Erie 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 Erie County?
Ask the Erie County Sheriff's Office at 800-844-6591; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at eriecounty.oh.gov/JailFAQs.aspx.
How many people are in the Erie County jail?
About 110 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 111 beds.
What is the phone number for the Erie County jail?
800-844-6591, the number on the page of the Erie County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Erie 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 Erie 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.