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 27, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Lincoln County, Wisconsin, has about 28,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lincoln County is held at the county jail, run by the Lincoln 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: Lincoln County public records, Lincoln County arrest records, Lincoln County warrants, Lincoln County criminal records, Lincoln County court records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lincoln County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lincoln County is held at the county jail, run by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office at p2c.lincolnsheriff.org/jailinmates.aspx (page title: Lincoln County Sheriffs Office P2C), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 27, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Lincoln County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 85 people, down from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 182 beds, and it ran at 47 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lincoln County has about 28,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 30 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lincoln County Jail
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Merrill and Tomahawk make the arrests that end in a booking in Lincoln County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Merrill's 764 for 2025, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office's 456 for 2025 and Tomahawk's 111 for 2024.
Together, the two agencies in Lincoln County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,220 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County serves the sentence in a facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Lincoln County?
Ask the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at p2c.lincolnsheriff.org/jailinmates.aspx.
How many people are in the Lincoln County jail?
About 85 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 182 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lincoln County go?
To a facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
Is this the official Lincoln 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.