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.
Lancaster County, South Carolina, has about 112,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lancaster County is held at the county jail, run by the Lancaster 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: Lancaster County public records, Lancaster County arrest records, Lancaster County warrants, Lancaster County police reports, Lancaster County property records, South Carolina arrest records and South Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lancaster County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lancaster County is held at the county jail, run by the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office at lacoso.net/detention (page title: Detention | lancaster-sheriff), phone 803-283-2084, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 803-283-2084.
The Lancaster County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 200 people, up from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 121 beds, and it ran at 164 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lancaster County has about 112,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 18 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lancaster County Jail
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Lancaster make the arrests that end in a booking in Lancaster County.
The FBI's agency list also places five state agencies and one state police unit in Lancaster County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office's 2,212 for 2025 and Lancaster's 296 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Lancaster County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,508 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster County?
Ask the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office at 803-283-2084; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lacoso.net/detention.
How many people are in the Lancaster County jail?
About 200 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 121 beds.
What is the phone number for the Lancaster County jail?
803-283-2084, the number on the page of the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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.