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 25, 2026.
Gainesville, Texas, in Cooke County, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Gainesville is held at the county jail, run by the Cooke 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: Gainesville public records, Cooke County inmate search, Gainesville arrest records, Gainesville warrants, Gainesville criminal records, Gainesville court records, Texas arrest records and Texas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Gainesville
The county jail, run by the Cooke County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Gainesville, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Cooke County Sheriff's Office at co.cooke.tx.us/page/cooke.sheriff (page title: Cooke County, Texas), phone 940-665-3471, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 940-665-3471.
The Cooke County Jail by the Numbers
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 130 people on an average day, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 212 beds, and it is running at 59 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cooke County has about 44,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 28 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cooke County Jail
The Cooke County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Gainesville (filed by the FBI as Gainesville Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Gainesville.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Cooke County: the Cooke County Constable's Precincts 2 and 1 (other agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Gainesville's 771 for 2025 and the Cooke County Sheriff's Office's 134 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Cooke County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 905 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 Gainesville 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 Cooke County serves the sentence in a facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, whose inmate locator is at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Gainesville?
Ask the Cooke County Sheriff's Office at 940-665-3471; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.cooke.tx.us/page/cooke.sheriff.
How many people are in the Cooke County jail?
About 130 on an average day so far in 2026, against a rated capacity of 212 beds.
What is the phone number for the Cooke County jail?
940-665-3471, the number on the page of the Cooke County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cooke County go?
To a facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; its inmate locator is at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.
Is this the official Gainesville website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.