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 October 4, 2026.
Franklin County, Pennsylvania, has about 159,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Franklin County is held at the county jail, run by the Franklin 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: Franklin County public records, Franklin County arrest records, Franklin County warrants, Franklin County criminal records, Franklin County court records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Franklin County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Franklin County is held at the county jail, run by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office at franklincountypa.gov/departments/jail (page title: Jail -Franklin County), phone 717-264-9513, 1804 Opportunity Avenue Chambersburg, PA 17201, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 717-264-9513.
The Franklin County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 240 people, down from about 430 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 458 beds, and it ran at 53 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Franklin County has about 159,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 15 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Franklin County Jail
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Chambersburg, Waynesboro, Greencastle and Mercersburg make the arrests that end in a booking in Franklin County.
The FBI's agency list also places four state agencies, one campus police department, three other agencies and one state police unit in Franklin County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The Shippensburg Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Franklin County, so its arrests are not broken out for Franklin County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Chambersburg's 617 for 2025, Washington Township's 358 for 2025 and Waynesboro's 225 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Franklin County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,244 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County serves the sentence in a facility of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Franklin County?
Ask the Franklin County Sheriff's Office at 717-264-9513; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountypa.gov/departments/jail.
How many people are in the Franklin County jail?
About 240 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 458 beds.
What is the phone number for the Franklin County jail?
717-264-9513, the number on the page of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Franklin County go?
To a facility of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov.
Is this the official Franklin 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.