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 9, 2026.
Smith County, Tennessee, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Smith County is held at the county jail, run by the Smith 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: Smith County public records, Smith County arrest records, Smith County warrants, Smith County criminal records, Smith County court records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Smith County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Smith County is held at the county jail, run by the Smith County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Smith County Sheriff's Office at smithcountyinsider.com/home-page-featured/smith-county-sheriffs-off... (page title: Smith County Sheriff’s Office welcomes two new deputies | Smith County Insider), phone (615) 735-7435, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 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 (615) 735-7435.
The Smith County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 110 people, down from about 140 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 128 beds, and it ran at 88 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Smith County has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 54 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Smith County Jail
The Smith County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Carthage, South Carthage and Gordonsville make the arrests that end in a booking in Smith County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Smith County Sheriff's Office's 857 for 2025, Carthage's 115 for 2025 and Gordonsville's 60 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Smith County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,068 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 Smith 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 Smith 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 Smith County?
Ask the Smith County Sheriff's Office at (615) 735-7435; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at smithcountyinsider.com.
How many people are in the Smith County jail?
About 110 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 128 beds.
What is the phone number for the Smith County jail?
(615) 735-7435, the number on the page of the Smith County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Smith 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 Smith 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.