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 2, 2026.
Portage County, Wisconsin, has about 72,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Portage County is held at the county jail, run by the Portage 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: Portage County public records, Portage County arrest records, Portage County warrants, Portage County criminal records, Portage County court records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Portage County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Portage County is held at the county jail, run by the Portage County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Portage County Sheriff's Office at co.portage.wi.gov/397/Corrections-Division-Jail (page title: Corrections Division (Jail) | Portage County, WI), phone 715-346-1259, 1500 Strongs Avenue Stevens Point, WI 54481, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 2, 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 715-346-1259.
The Portage County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 52 people, up from about 50 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 79 beds, and it ran at 66 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Portage County has about 72,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 7 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Portage County Jail
The Portage County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Stevens Point and Plover make the arrests that end in a booking in Portage County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Portage County: the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Stevens Point's 1,464 for 2025, the Portage County Sheriff's Office's 714 for 2025 and Plover's 503 for 2024.
Together, the two agencies in Portage County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,178 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 Portage 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 Portage 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 Portage County?
Ask the Portage County Sheriff's Office at 715-346-1259; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.portage.wi.gov.
How many people are in the Portage County jail?
About 52 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 79 beds.
What is the phone number for the Portage County jail?
715-346-1259, the number on the page of the Portage County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Portage 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 Portage 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.