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 September 30, 2026.
Sullivan County, Tennessee, has about 163,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Sullivan County is held at the county jail, run by the Sullivan 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: Sullivan County public records, Sullivan County arrest records, Sullivan County warrants, Sullivan County criminal records, Sullivan County court records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Sullivan County
The county jail, run by the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Sullivan County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office at scsotn.com/inmateRoster (page title: Inmate Roster | Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, TN), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Sullivan County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 930 people, down from about 980 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 659 beds, and it ran at 141 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Sullivan County has about 163,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 57 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Sullivan County Jail
The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Kingsport, Bristol and Bluff City make the arrests that end in a booking in Sullivan County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Sullivan County: Drug Task Force's 2nd Judicial District and Tri-Cities Regional Airport (other agency); Northeast State Community College (campus police).
The Johnson City Police Department is listed by the FBI across three counties including Sullivan County, so its arrests are not broken out for Sullivan County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office's 4,896 for 2025, Kingsport's 3,752 for 2025 and Bristol's 1,150 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Sullivan County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 9,889 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 Sullivan 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 Tennessee Department of Correction lists its inmates at foil.app.tn.gov/foil/search.jsp.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Sullivan County?
Look on the custody page of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office at scsotn.com/inmateRoster. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Sullivan County jail?
About 930 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 659 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Sullivan 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 Sullivan 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.