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 1, 2026.
Hempstead, Texas, in Waller County, has about 6,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hempstead is held at the county jail, run by the Waller 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: Hempstead public records, Waller County inmate search, Hempstead arrest records, Hempstead warrants, Hempstead criminal records, Hempstead court records, Texas arrest records and Texas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Hempstead
The county jail, run by the Waller County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Hempstead, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Waller County Sheriff's Office at wallercountytexassheriff.org/inmateSearch (page title: Inmate Search | Waller County Sheriff Office Website), 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 Waller County Jail by the Numbers
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 190 people on an average day, up from about 87 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 225 beds, and it is running at 83 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Waller County has about 65,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 29 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Waller County Jail
The Waller County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Hempstead (filed by the FBI as Hempstead Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Hempstead.
The FBI's agency list also places seven other agencies and one campus police department in Waller County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The Katy Police Department is listed by the FBI across three counties including Waller County, so its arrests are not broken out for Waller County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Waller County Sheriff's Office's 1,200 for 2025, Hempstead's 116 for 2025 and Brookshire's 99 for 2025.
Together, the five agencies in Waller County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,493 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 Hempstead 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 Waller 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 Hempstead?
Look on the custody page of the Waller County Sheriff's Office at wallercountytexassheriff.org/inmateSearch. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Waller County jail?
About 190 on an average day so far in 2026, against a rated capacity of 225 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Waller 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 Hempstead 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.