The Monroe County Inmate Population
Monroe County sits in southwest Illinois, just across the river from the St. Louis area, with the county seat in Waterloo. Its inmate population is small. The only general detention site is the Monroe County Jail at 225 E. 3rd Street, run by the Monroe County Sheriff's Department. The jail holds adults who were arrested locally, people held before trial, and a few serving short county sentences. It is not a state prison, so it does not hold people serving long felony terms.
The count moves with daily events. Arrests push it up. Court release decisions, dismissed cases, and transfers to the Illinois Department of Corrections pull it back down. Because the jail has only a few dozen beds, even a handful of bookings shifts the percentage of beds in use. The Illinois Department of Corrections inspects the jail every year and collects population numbers, which makes the basic figures public even though the sheriff does not post a live roster online.
Monroe County Inmate Population Statistics
The clearest hard numbers come from the state jail inspection. On its most recent visit, the Illinois Department of Corrections counted 34 people in a jail rated for 42 beds. That is an inspection-day snapshot, not an average for the whole year. Monroe County does not publish an average daily population, an annual booking count, or a race breakdown, so those rows stay blank rather than being filled with guesses.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Rated bed capacity | 42 beds (38 male, 4 female) | IDOC inspection, Sept. 13, 2024 |
| Inspection-day population | 34 (33 male, 1 female) | IDOC inspection, Sept. 13, 2024 |
| Share of capacity in use | About 81 percent (34 of 42) | Calculated from IDOC 2024 figures |
| County resident population | 34,969 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Inspection-day custody rate | About 97 per 100,000 residents | Calculated from IDOC 2024 and Census 2024 |
| Average daily population | Not published | Sheriff / county / IDOC pages reviewed |
The resident figure comes from U.S. Census QuickFacts for Monroe County and only sets context. The Census measures who lives in the county, not who is in jail. The custody rate is a simple division of the inspection-day count by the resident base.
Monroe County Inmate Population Trends
Three years of state inspections show a slow rise in the inspection-day count and a small drop in rated beds. The population went from 27 to 32 to 34 across the three visits. In the same span the listed capacity fell from 46 beds to 42. None of these are full-year averages. They are single-day counts taken when the inspector was on site, so they should be read as a rough trend rather than a precise gauge.
| Year | Inspection-Day Population | Rated Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 27 | 46 | Inspected Sept. 13, 2022; about 59 percent of beds used. |
| 2023 | 32 | 46 | Inspected Sept. 18, 2023; a supervision-check timing issue was noted. |
| 2024 | 34 | 42 | Inspected Sept. 13, 2024; about 81 percent of beds used. |
The IDOC Jail and Detention Standards Unit collects detainee population statistics from county jails every month and forwards the data to a state criminal-justice agency once a year. A public month-by-month table for Monroe County was not located in the official sources, so a records request would be the route to deeper figures.
Who Makes Up the Monroe County Inmate Population
The inspection reports break the count down only by sex and by adult versus juvenile. They do not show a pre-trial versus sentenced split, a felony versus misdemeanor split, or a race breakdown for the jail. Because Illinois ended cash bail in 2023, the pre-trial share would be useful, but it was not in the records reviewed. The sex counts give the only firm demographic picture.
- Adults only, with zero juveniles listed in custody on each of the past three inspection days.
- Mostly male, with 33 men and 1 woman counted on the 2024 inspection day.
- Pre-trial and sentenced mixed together, since a county jail holds people awaiting court and people serving short local time, with no published split.
- Local holds, not state prisoners, because anyone sentenced to a long prison term is moved into Illinois Department of Corrections custody.
Note: these are one-day snapshots, so the share of women or the mix of charges on any given week can differ from the figures shown above.
Monroe County Jail Capacity and Bed Space
The jail was built in 1986 and has not been listed with a major renovation in the recent inspections. The 2024 report shows 18 double cells plus a few single and double detention rooms. Capacity was listed at 46 beds in the 2022 and 2023 reports, then 42 beds in 2024. That drop most likely reflects a change in how beds are designated rather than new construction, since no renovation was recorded.
On every inspection day in the past three years the count stayed below the rated number of beds. The jail was at about 59 percent of capacity in 2022, 70 percent in 2023, and 81 percent in 2024. Those figures do not show overcrowding, though the most recent day was closer to full than the years before it. In a jail this size, a few extra bookings can move that percentage a long way.
Laws Governing the Monroe County Inmate Population
A handful of Illinois laws make the jail count and jail records public and set the rules the facility runs under. The state Freedom of Information Act opens most jail records to the public. A separate section covers arrest and booking information. State corrections law gives inspectors the power to monitor county jails, and the administrative code sets the day-to-day standards. Each law below is paired with a plain-English note.
Key Statutes:
Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140 - public bodies must release non-exempt records, which is how booking and jail-population records become available.
5 ILCS 140/2.15 (arrest and criminal-history records) - sets the rules for releasing arrest reports and booking information, including limits on booking photos.
730 ILCS 5/3-15-2 and 5/3-15-3 (jail inspection authority) - lets the state Jail and Detention Standards Unit inspect county jails and gather population data.
20 Ill. Adm. Code Part 701 (county jail standards) - sets minimum rules for records, admission, classification, visiting, mail, and medical care, plus monthly population reporting.
730 ILCS 125/20 (County Jail Act) - allows certain cost and medical-fee deductions from an inmate's account.
Monroe County and the Illinois Prison Population
No state prison sits inside Monroe County. When a person from the county is sentenced to prison, the county jail holds them only until transfer arrangements are made, then they enter Illinois Department of Corrections custody. From that point the person no longer counts toward the Monroe County jail population and no longer appears in any county jail record. Families should switch to the IDOC Individual in Custody Search once a sentence to prison is handed down.
Statewide context helps, but it must be read carefully. The Prison Policy Initiative Illinois profile reports an incarceration rate of 433 per 100,000 people counting prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile facilities, and at least 173,000 people booked into local jails across the state each year. That all-systems number cannot be compared head to head with a single small jail's inspection-day rate, because the two figures count very different things.
How to Search for a Monroe County Inmate
Monroe County does not publish a public online jail roster. The sheriff's website has pages for the correctional division, mail, medical care, visitation, and property, but no "current inmates" search box was found during this research. So the search is a short chain of official channels rather than a single web form. Start with the people who hold the records, then widen out by custody level.
- Call the Monroe County Sheriff's Department and jail at 618-939-8651 and ask whether the person is in custody and what can be shared by phone.
- Check the Monroe County Sheriff Illinois app, which the sheriff promotes for jail information and public-safety alerts.
- Search the county court records on Judici once charges are filed, to confirm a case and the next court date.
- File a written records request with the county for a booking sheet or older booking record that is not online.
- If the person was sentenced to prison, switch to the IDOC search; for federal or immigration custody, use the federal locators instead.
The detail page for Monroe County jail inmate records walks through each of these steps and the fields a record can contain.
Confirming Current Custody in Monroe County
Because there is no live roster, current custody has to be confirmed person to person. The fastest route is the jail phone line, where staff can sometimes confirm whether someone is held and on what general status. A custody-notification service can also alert you to a change. The table below maps the most common goals to the right official channel, which keeps a search from wandering into the wrong system.
| What You Need | Best Official Channel |
|---|---|
| Confirm someone is in the jail today | Call the sheriff and jail at 618-939-8651; check the sheriff app |
| A booking sheet or older booking record | Written county records request |
| The charges filed after an arrest | Judici Monroe County court search |
| Someone sentenced to state prison | IDOC Individual in Custody Search |
| Custody or release notifications | VINELink Illinois |
Note: a county jail booking number does not work in the state prison search, so use the right identifier for each system.
Past and Released Inmate Records
There is no public archive of released Monroe County inmates online. To prove a past booking or release, the route is a written Freedom of Information Act request to the county. A request should name the person, the approximate arrest date, the arresting agency, and the exact records wanted, such as a booking sheet, custody status, or release date. The more specific the request, the faster the answer.
Once charges have been filed, the court file is often the easier trail for an older matter, since it holds the formal charges, the docket, and the outcome. The jail record answers why a person was booked, while the court record answers what the prosecutor filed and how the case ended.
The county explains its written-request process, response time, and copy fees on its records page. A lead-in to that office sits on the Monroe County FOIA page, shown below.
The page lists the county FOIA officer, a five-working-day response window, and a fee schedule that gives the first 50 black-and-white pages free. That makes a records request the dependable fallback when the online channels come up empty.
What a Monroe County Inmate Record Shows
No public sample profile was located, so the fields below describe what a county jail booking record normally holds and what a records request might return. The jail photographs and fingerprints people at intake under state standards, but that does not mean the photo is posted online. Treat the housing unit, exact charges, and any photo as request-only unless an official roster appears later.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The person booked; spelling may differ from the court file. |
| Booking Date and Time | When intake happened, if released by the sheriff or by request. |
| Booking Number / Inmate ID | Needed for mail; the jail requires the inmate ID on incoming letters. |
| Arresting Agency | The agency that brought the person in, such as the sheriff or a local police department. |
| Charges | Arrest or booking charges, which can differ from the charges a prosecutor later files. |
| Custody Status | In custody, released, or transferred to state or federal custody, where releasable. |
A few terms come up again and again in these records. The short glossary below keeps them straight.
- Booking
- The intake process after an arrest, including search, photo, fingerprints, and record creation.
- Pre-trial release
- Release before trial under conditions set by a judge, not a cash payment.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency that can keep a person in custody.
- Transfer
- Movement from the county jail into state prison or federal custody after sentencing or a hold.
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
The single most common mistake is checking the county jail for someone who has already gone to prison. Pre-trial detainees and short-sentence inmates stay in the county jail. People sentenced to a longer felony term move to an Illinois Department of Corrections prison, which has its own statewide locator. The comparison below shows which system covers which slice of the inmate population.
| County Jail | State Prison (IDOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pre-trial and short local sentences | Sentenced felons |
| Run By | Monroe County Sheriff's Department | Illinois Department of Corrections |
| Where to Look | Call the jail; written records request | IDOC Individual in Custody Search |
| Key Identifier | Booking number or inmate ID | IDOC number |
State, Federal, and Immigration Inmate Search
Once a person leaves local custody, the search moves to a state or federal system. Sentenced Illinois prisoners appear in the IDOC search, where the most useful field is the IDOC number and the current facility. Federal sentenced inmates are found through the federal Bureau of Prisons. People held on an immigration matter are searched through a separate federal locator, not the county jail.
- State prison: the IDOC Individual in Custody Search, or call IDOC at 217-558-2200.
- Federal prison: the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by register number or name.
- Immigration custody: the ICE Online Detainee Locator System by A-number or biographical details.
Federal pre-trial defendants are a special case. They are usually held by the U.S. Marshals Service in a contracted local jail and may not yet show in the federal prison locator, which mainly lists sentenced inmates.
Monroe County Detention Facilities
Two facilities matter for a Monroe County search. The county jail in Waterloo is the main and normal starting point. A larger jail in neighboring St. Clair County appears only because the state inspection notes it can house Monroe County detainees when needed, which makes it an overflow option rather than a first stop.
- Monroe County Jail - the primary county jail in Waterloo, holding pre-trial and short-sentence adults.
- St. Clair County Jail - a larger regional jail in Belleville that can hold Monroe County detainees and federal contract detainees when needed.
The Monroe County Sheriff App and Alerts
The sheriff treats a mobile app as a core channel and repeats the download prompt across the department website. The free Monroe County Sheriff Illinois app on the App Store and on Google Play offers crime reporting, tips, public-safety news, and what the department calls jail information and important public-safety databases.
The store listings do not spell out whether the app includes an inmate roster, a warrant list, or a booking search, so it should be checked for any app-only jail tools rather than assumed to carry them. The app is not for emergencies; in an emergency, call 911.
Monroe County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Monroe County inmate population?
On the most recent state inspection day, September 13, 2024, the jail held 34 people in a facility rated for 42 beds. That is a single-day count, not a yearly average. The inspection-day figure rose from 27 in 2022 to 32 in 2023 to 34 in 2024, while listed capacity slipped from 46 beds to 42.
Is there an online Monroe County jail roster?
No public sheriff-run roster or booking search was found on the official county sites. To confirm current custody, call the jail at 618-939-8651 or check the sheriff app. For a copy of a booking record, file a written records request with the county.
How do I find a released or transferred Monroe County inmate?
For a released person, file a written records request with the county for the booking and release record. If the person was sentenced to prison, use the IDOC search. For federal or immigration custody, use the federal Bureau of Prisons or ICE locators instead of the county jail.
Does Monroe County post inmate mugshots?
No official online mugshot gallery was located. Booking photos are taken at intake, but a photo is request-only and may be limited by Illinois arrest-record law. Details sit on the Monroe County jail mugshots page.