Clinton County Inmate Population Overview
The Clinton County inmate population is housed locally at the Clinton County Jail, operated by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at the Law Center. The jail is the county point for people arrested by the Sheriff's Office, Clinton Police, DeWitt Police, Camanche Police, Iowa State Patrol, court warrants, and outside agencies when a lawful hold is accepted. The county roster also has held-for-agency choices for courts, Iowa DOC, U.S. Marshals, and many Iowa or Illinois agencies, so a roster row may show the agency for which the jail is holding the person rather than the first officer who made the arrest.
That local jail count is different from the Iowa prison count. People awaiting court, serving short local sentences, or held on judge-set bonds remain in the county system. People sentenced to state prison move into the Iowa Department of Corrections offender search and may no longer appear as current Clinton County jail inmates. Federal and immigration custody use separate BOP and ICE systems. The result is a layered search path: county jail first for current local custody, Iowa Courts Online for filed charges, Iowa DOC for sentenced state custody, and federal locators only when the record points there.
Clinton County Inmate Population Statistics
The most detailed official jail-population source located for Clinton County is the July 2014 Justice Needs Assessment linked by the county's Justice Coordinating Commission. It described the jail as a 44-bed facility with a six-bed work release area and 10 temporary beds for under-24-hour housing. The same assessment reported 1,865 bookings in calendar year 2012 and an average daily population of 38.63, which it called the lowest annual average in nearly a decade.
A current aggregate jail dashboard was not located in county sources. The live public roster API returned 58 public records for the in-custody date June 13, 2026, during research. That figure is a point-in-time public roster count, not an annual average and not a formal capacity finding. It should be read with care because the 2014 capacity source may not reflect later operational changes, housing practices, or temporary arrangements.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily population | 38.63 | Clinton County Justice Needs Assessment, 2012 data |
| Annual bookings | 1,865 | Clinton County Justice Needs Assessment, 2012 data |
| Rated / bed capacity | 44 beds, plus work release and temporary beds | Clinton County Justice Needs Assessment, July 2014 |
| Operating capacity reference | 45 | Operational assessment, July 2014 |
| Live roster count | 58 records | Official roster API inspected June 13, 2026 |
| County population estimate | 46,002 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2025 estimate |
Clinton County Jail Population Trends
The Clinton County inmate population has to be read across several time points because the county does not publish a simple current trend dashboard. The 2014 assessment looked back at 2012, when the jail booked 1,865 people and averaged 38.63 people per day. A Prison Policy Initiative correctional-population table based on census-era data listed the Clinton County Jail population at 43 on December 31, 2013. The public roster count inspected on June 13, 2026 was higher than those older planning numbers, but it is only a single-day roster count.
Planning documents also show why the number matters. The 2014 assessment said the jail's old linear design limited staff control and classification options. It projected a 96-bed future requirement if Clinton County built a properly designed replacement. The public county site still points jail users to the Law Center, and the 2021 Iowa DOC inspection found Clinton County Jail in compliance with Chapter 50, Iowa Jail Standards. Those facts support a cautious reading: the Clinton County inmate population has official historical data, current roster evidence, and inspection records, but no public source here proves a current overcrowding finding.
| Year or Date | Count / Status | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 38.63 ADP | Lowest annual ADP in nearly a decade, per county assessment |
| 2012 | 1,865 bookings | Calendar-year jail intake volume |
| 2013-12-31 | 43 people | Correctional-population table entry for Clinton Co. Jail |
| 2014 | 44-bed facility, 96-bed projected need | County planning and capacity context |
| 2021-02-24 | Compliant inspection | Iowa DOC jail inspection found Chapter 50 compliance |
| 2026-06-13 | 58 roster records | Point-in-time public roster count from official API |
Who Is Counted in Clinton County
Public county sources did not provide a current aggregate table by sex, race, age, pretrial status, sentence status, or charge level. The roster does, however, expose individual public fields that show how the Clinton County inmate population can be described at the record level. A roster row may show sex, age rather than full date of birth, race, arrest date, release date, held-for agency, mugshot, and hold reasons. The roster configuration also restricts juvenile display, so juvenile custody or case questions should not be treated as ordinary public roster searches.
Held-for-agency values are especially useful in Clinton County. They include Clinton County Sheriff's Office, Clinton Police Department, DeWitt Police Department, Camanche Police Department, Clerk of Court, District Court, Magistrate Court, Iowa Department of Corrections, U.S. Marshals, and many other county or out-of-state agencies. This explains why a person can be physically in the jail but tied to a court hold, a probation matter, an out-of-county warrant, or another agency's process.
- In custody
- Physically held or counted under jail custody on the searched date.
- Held for agency
- The agency or court process for which the jail is holding the person.
- Detainer or hold
- A separate agency or case that can prevent release even when a local bond is paid.
- Work release
- A custody program referenced in county planning and money-release rules.
Laws Governing Clinton County Jail Data
Iowa law sets the frame for jail records, inmate records, and local custody. Iowa Code Chapter 22 is the state's open-records law. It generally gives access to public records unless another law makes a record confidential. The same chapter includes law-enforcement and criminal-identification limits, so it is more accurate to say many booking and arrest facts are public than to say every jail file is open.
Key Statutes:
Iowa Code Chapter 356 places county prisoners in the sheriff's charge and custody.
Iowa Administrative Code chapter 201-50 governs jail standards, inspection, training, and operating procedures.
Iowa Code section 904.601 applies to Iowa DOC inmate records, which are separate from county jail roster records.
Iowa's DCRA plan cites custody-death autopsy requirements for certain jail, prison, and police-custody deaths.
The practical rule is simple: the Clinton County roster is the fastest public source for current jail custody, while Chapter 22 and the Sheriff's Records Division provide the request path when a roster field, report, or older booking detail is not online.
Search the Clinton County Jail Roster
The official lookup starts at the Sheriff's jail page or directly at the CentralSquare public inmate roster. The county link is labeled "Who's in Jail." The roster is public and no login was observed during research. It is not a complete criminal-history database. It is a custody snapshot for people in the Clinton County Jail on a selected current or recent date.
The county jail page screenshot below is from the official Clinton County Sheriff's Office site. It links the roster, visitation, inmate property, inmate money, phone, and mail resources that govern most custody questions.
The Clinton County jail page is the best official starting point when a reader wants to confirm that the roster link and jail contact details belong to Clinton County, Iowa.
The page matters because it ties the roster to local rules for visits, money, mail, and phone access rather than leaving the search portal without county context.
- Open the official roster from the county jail page or the CentralSquare inmate portal.
- Set the In Custody On date within the portal's seven-day date limit.
- Use the Name field to narrow a broad result list.
- Add Race, Sex, Held For Agency, Arrest Date, or Release Date only when those facts are known.
- Use pagination if the result count is larger than the selected page size.
- Call the jail if the roster does not show a person who may have just been booked.
Clinton County Roster Search Fields
The roster is more specific than a name-only lookup. The public configuration exposes date, demographic, agency, paging, and sorting controls. The In Custody On field is the key field for current custody, and Clinton County's configuration limits that date to roughly the prior seven days. A blank API request was rejected during research because in-custody date, paging, and sorting data were missing.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Text | Optional | Free-text name filter for narrowing results. |
| In Custody On | Date picker | Effectively required | Limited to the past seven days in county configuration. |
| Arrest Date | Date picker | Optional | Only sent when a date is entered. |
| Race | Dropdown | Optional | Includes White, Black or African American, Asian, Native American, Unknown, and other listed options. |
| Sex | Dropdown | Optional | Includes Female, Male, Not Specified, and Unknown. |
| Held For Agency | Dropdown | Optional | Includes local police, courts, Iowa DOC, U.S. Marshals, and outside agencies. |
| Release Date | Date picker | Optional | Useful for recent releases if the person is no longer current. |
| Paging / Sorting | Table controls | Required by API | Default page size was 20 rows sorted by name. |
What Clinton County Inmate Records Show
A Clinton County inmate record can show more than a name. Public rows inspected in the official portal included mugshot, name, sex, age, arrest date, held-for agency, race, release date, and hold reasons. Hold reasons may include Iowa Code charge language, a charge description, arrest date, bond type, bond amount when present, and a "Set By Judge" note. The public row did not show full date of birth, booking number, court date, height, weight, eye color, or hair color in the sampled data.
| Roster Field | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Mugshot | Booking photo displayed on adult public rows when present. |
| Name | Last-name-first format used by the roster. |
| Age | Age only, not full date of birth. |
| Held For Agency | Agency or court process tied to the hold. |
| Hold Reasons | Charge or hold narrative with bond language. |
| Release Date | Release date when applicable, often blank for current custody. |
County Jail vs State Prison Search
Clinton County has no Iowa DOC prison, BOP prison, or confirmed ICE detention facility in the county. State-sentenced people from Clinton County enter the Iowa DOC system after sentencing. Federal sentenced prisoners are searched through the BOP inmate locator. Immigration detainee searches use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. VINELink is useful for notification and custody alerts, but it is not the official court docket or jail booking-photo source.
| Custody Type | Best Search Source | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| County jail | Clinton County roster | Current or recent local jail custody. |
| State prison / DOC supervision | Iowa DOC offender search | Sentenced prisoners and DOC-supervised offenders. |
| Federal custody | BOP locator or federal court/USMS channels | Federal sentenced custody and some released federal inmates. |
| Immigration custody | ICE ODLS | ICE detainee searches by A-number or biographical data. |
| Notification | VINELink | Custody status alerts where available. |
Booking Charges and Court Records
Roster charge text is not the final word on a criminal case. After a Clinton County jail arrest, the Clinton County Attorney reviews the matter and filed charges appear in Iowa Courts Online. The court docket can show criminal charges, filings, attorneys, dispositions, fines and fees, and hearing history when the case is public. Public case documents may require a courthouse terminal or subscription, and juvenile or confidential cases do not appear like ordinary public cases.
Bond terms are also tied to court action. Clinton County roster rows may show Cash Only, Cash/Surety, Cash / Multiple Cases, No Bond, or bond amounts with "Set By Judge." Anyone posting money should verify the current bond, all holds, and payment method with the jail or court before travel. An out-of-county hold, DOC hold, U.S. Marshals hold, probation matter, or no-bond order can block release even when one local bond appears satisfied.
Clinton County Detention Facility
The facility map for Clinton County, Iowa resolves to one local detention facility. City police departments route arrestees into the county jail rather than maintaining separate city jail pages in the official sources reviewed. No state prison, federal prison, or ICE facility was confirmed inside Clinton County, Iowa.
- Clinton County Jail - county jail operated by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office for local arrests, pretrial detainees, local sentences, court holds, outside-agency holds, and jail services.
Clinton County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Clinton County inmate population? The best current public point-in-time figure in this research was 58 roster records for June 13, 2026. The best official historical average was 38.63 average daily population in 2012 from the county's 2014 Justice Needs Assessment.
Where is the Clinton County inmate population held? The local jail population is held at Clinton County Jail. Sentenced state prisoners move to Iowa DOC custody, and federal or immigration custody uses separate federal systems.
Can released inmates be searched? The county roster has a release-date filter, but the county did not publish a retention period. For older booking or report questions, contact the Sheriff's Records Division.
Are mugshots part of the Clinton County inmate record? Current public roster rows can show booking photos. Juvenile and confidential information is restricted, and the county did not publish a formal mugshot removal schedule.
Is the roster a full background check? No. Iowa DCI handles statewide criminal-history background checks, Iowa Courts Online handles public court dockets, and the jail roster handles current or recent custody.