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.
Lake County, Tennessee, has about 6,400 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lake County is held at the county jail, run by the Lake 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: Lake County public records, Lake County arrest records, Lake County warrants, Lake County criminal records, Lake County court records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lake County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lake County is held at the county jail, run by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lake County Sheriff's Office at lakecountytn.gov/government/departments/sheriffs-department (page title: Sheriff's Department | Lake County, TN Government), phone (731) 253-7791, 109 S Court St. Tiptonville, TN 38079, Monday - Friday 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M., 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 (731) 253-7791.
The Lake County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 30 people, down from about 46 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 40 beds, and it ran at 74 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lake County has about 6,400 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 46 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lake County Jail
The Lake County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Tiptonville and Ridgely make the arrests that end in a booking in Lake County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Lake County Sheriff's Office's 95 for 2024, Tiptonville's 92 for 2025 and Ridgely's 30 for 2023.
Together, the two agencies in Lake County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 219 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 Lake 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 Lake County serves the sentence in a facility of the Tennessee Department of Correction, whose inmate locator is at foil.app.tn.gov/foil/search.jsp.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Lake County?
Ask the Lake County Sheriff's Office at (731) 253-7791; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at lakecountytn.gov.
How many people are in the Lake County jail?
About 30 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 40 beds.
What is the phone number for the Lake County jail?
(731) 253-7791, the number on the page of the Lake County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lake County go?
To a facility of the Tennessee Department of Correction; its inmate locator is at foil.app.tn.gov/foil/search.jsp.
Is this the official Lake 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.