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 on September 24, 2026.
Beaufort County, South Carolina, has about 202,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Beaufort County is held at the county jail, run by the Beaufort 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: Beaufort County public records, Beaufort County arrest records, Beaufort County warrants, Beaufort County criminal records, Beaufort County court records, South Carolina arrest records and South Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Beaufort County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Beaufort County is held at the county jail, run by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office at beaufortcountysc.gov/detention-center/inmate-inquiry-system.html (page title: Inmate Inquiry System), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Beaufort County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 120 people, down from about 340 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 181 beds, and it ran at 187 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Beaufort County has about 202,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 6 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Beaufort County Jail
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Bluffton, Port Royal and Beaufort make the arrests that end in a booking in Beaufort County.
The FBI's agency list also places one state police unit, five state agencies and one campus police department in Beaufort County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The Hardeeville Police Department and the Yemassee Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Beaufort County, so their arrests are not broken out for Beaufort County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office's 1,935 for 2025, Beaufort's 546 for 2024 and Bluffton's 330 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Beaufort County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,559 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 Beaufort 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 South Carolina Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.sc.gov/inmate-search-disclaimer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Beaufort County?
Ask the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at beaufortcountysc.gov.
How many people are in the Beaufort County jail?
About 120 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 181 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Beaufort County go?
To a facility of the South Carolina Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.sc.gov/inmate-search-disclaimer.
Is this the official Beaufort 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.