The Macoupin County Inmate Population
Almost everyone counted in the Macoupin County inmate population is held in one place. The Macoupin County Jail in Carlinville is the only detention facility the sheriff's office runs. It holds adults at the county stage of a case. That means people just booked after an arrest, people waiting for a first court date, people held without release while a case moves, and local inmates serving short sentences. The jail also holds a few warrant arrests and people waiting to transfer to state prison after sentencing.
The Illinois Department of Corrections inspects the jail each year and records the population on the inspection day. On October 1, 2024 the count was 59 people. That is the clearest official snapshot of the local inmate population. The number is not fixed. Arrests push it up. Bond and pretrial release decisions move people out. Felony sentences send people to a state prison, where they leave the county count and join the IDOC system instead.
Macoupin County Inmate Population Statistics
The hard numbers for the Macoupin County inmate population come from the state's annual jail inspection and from the U.S. Census. The 2024 inspection lists the jail's rated capacity and the population on the inspection date. It does not publish an annual average daily population, so the figures below are inspection-day counts and clearly sourced calculations rather than year-round averages.
County population gives the local rate some context. The Macoupin County population was about 43,748 in mid-2025, down from 44,967 at the 2020 Census. The full demographic table sits on the official census page.
The U.S. Census QuickFacts page for Macoupin County reports the county population estimate and breakdown used here.
That county total is the denominator for the jail rate below. With 59 people in custody on the inspection day, the local jail rate works out to roughly 135 per 100,000 residents for that single day.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Rated bed capacity | 93 (81 male, 12 female) | IDOC jail inspection, Oct. 2024 |
| Inspection-day population | 59 (54 male, 5 female) | IDOC jail inspection, Oct. 1, 2024 |
| Occupancy on inspection day | About 63% of capacity | Calculated from IDOC figures |
| Inspection-day jail rate | About 135 per 100,000 | Calculated, IDOC count and Census estimate |
Macoupin County Inmate Population Trends
Two inspection snapshots show how the Macoupin County inmate population moved between years. The November 21, 2023 inspection counted 52 people. The October 1, 2024 inspection counted 59. That is a rise of seven over roughly ten months. Both counts stayed well under the 93-bed rated capacity, so the jail was not full on either inspection day.
This is a two-point comparison, not a true multi-year trend. The state collects monthly jail population data through its Jail and Detention Standards Unit, but a public county-level monthly table was not available for Macoupin County. Illinois pretrial reform has changed who stays in jail before trial across the state, though no county-specific study of that effect was found for Macoupin County.
| Inspection Date | Inspection-Day Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1, 2024 | 59 | 54 male, 5 female; 93-bed capacity |
| Nov. 21, 2023 | 52 | 50 male, 2 female; same 93-bed capacity |
Who Makes Up the Macoupin County Inmate Population
The inspection gives a sex split but not a full demographic profile. On the 2024 inspection day, 54 of the 59 people in custody were male and 5 were female. That is about 91 percent male. No juveniles were held. The jail has no rated juvenile beds at all.
The custody reasons behind the count are mixed. Official sources describe the groups held without putting a number on each one.
- Pre-trial vs sentenced - The jail holds people waiting for court alongside inmates serving short county sentences. No public split between the two was published.
- Male vs female - On the 2024 inspection day the population was 54 male and 5 female.
- Charge level - Both misdemeanor and felony detainees are held; a felony sentence later moves a person to state prison.
- Holds and transfers - The count includes warrant arrests, court holds, and people waiting to transfer to the state corrections system.
Macoupin County Jail Capacity and Overcrowding
The jail was built in 1989 and carries a rated capacity of 93 beds, split into 81 male beds and 12 female beds. Housing sits on one floor of detention. There are 19 single rooms, 26 double rooms, one 10-bed dorm, and one 12-bed dorm. Classification rules keep men and women separate and follow Illinois county jail standards for housing assignments.
Neither recent inspection showed overcrowding. The 2023 count of 52 and the 2024 count of 59 both sat below the 93-bed limit. No overcrowding order, consent decree, or capacity lawsuit was found in the official sources. The current jail replaced the historic Cannonball Jail, which the county retired in 1988 after more than a century of use.
Laws Governing the Macoupin County Inmate Population
Illinois law is what makes most of this information public and what governs how the jail is run and counted. The Freedom of Information Act opens public records held by the sheriff and county unless an exemption applies. A separate section spells out which arrest and booking details must be released. County jail standards set the records, admissions, and reporting rules, and a corrections statute requires the state to inspect every county jail each year. A death-in-custody statute requires reporting when someone dies in a jail or prison.
Key Statutes:
Illinois Code § 5 ILCS 140/2.15 - Arrest-report details, including charges and a booking photograph when available, must be furnished within 72 hours of arrest.
Illinois Code § 20 Ill. Adm. Code 701 - County jail standards set the rules for records, admissions, classification, housing, and population reporting.
Illinois Code § 730 ILCS 5/3-15-2 - The state must inspect each county jail every year and make the results available for public review.
Illinois Code § 730 ILCS 210/3-5-b - Deaths in custody at jails and prisons must be reported to the state and are tracked in an annual report.
Macoupin County and the State Prison Population
No state prison sits inside Macoupin County, so there is no local IDOC facility count to report. People sentenced to a felony term in Macoupin County leave the county jail and enter the statewide prison system. At that point they stop counting toward the local jail population and start showing up in the state inmate locator instead.
The state corrections department keeps its own population data sets and annual reports for context on the statewide prison count. A list of state facilities and where sentenced inmates are housed is on the Illinois Department of Corrections facilities page. The nearest state prison serving the region is in a neighboring county, not in Macoupin County itself.
How to Search the Macoupin County Inmate Population
Searching the Macoupin County inmate population is not a one-click roster lookup. The sheriff's website does not publish a public list of current inmates. The closest official channel is the Macoupin County Sheriff IL mobile app, which a user review says shows who is currently in custody and why. When the app is not enough, a call to the jail is the reliable fallback.
Before you start, have the person's full name ready. A date of birth or case number helps if you later move to the court or state systems. Then work through the channels in order.
- Install the Macoupin County Sheriff IL app from the App Store or Google Play and check the current-custody feature.
- If the app does not show the person, call the Macoupin County Sheriff's Office and jail at 217-854-3135 to confirm custody.
- For a booking record or arrest report not posted online, file a written FOIA request with the county.
- If the person was sentenced and transferred, search the state IDOC inmate locator instead of the county channels.
- Use Illinois VINE to register for custody-status and release notifications.
The official Google Play listing for the sheriff app is the quickest way to confirm it is the real county app before installing.
The Macoupin County Sheriff IL app on Google Play is published for the sheriff's office and was updated in early 2026.
Because the current-custody tool appears to be app-only, the app and the jail phone line together do the job that a public web roster would do in other counties.
Current Inmate Lookup in Macoupin County
For a current detainee, the sheriff app and the jail phone line are the two live channels. There is no published refresh time for the app, so staff at the jail are the best source for up-to-the-minute custody, bond, and release information. The state inmate locator covers a different group, sentenced state prisoners, and it does accept a structured search by name or number. Its search fields are shown below as the example of a working inmate-search form for this area.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | One search route | Partial last name accepted, such as Smith or Smit. |
| IDOC Number | Text | One search route | Format like K01234. |
| Birthdate | Date | One search route | Used to narrow common names. |
Note: The sheriff app is the main current-custody channel, while the state locator covers people already sentenced and moved to prison.
Past and Released Inmate Records
Finding a released or past inmate works differently. No public website roster keeps a searchable history of Macoupin County bookings, and the app reflects current custody rather than an archive. For older booking or arrest records, the route is a written public-records request to the county. A request should name the person, the approximate arrest or booking date, the agency, and the case number if known.
If the person was sentenced to state prison, their record stays searchable in the state locator through the length of the sentence. Illinois VINE can also confirm a custody change or a release across participating systems, which helps when someone has moved between the county jail and another facility.
What a Macoupin County Inmate Record Shows
No public county roster profile could be inspected, so the fields below come from Illinois arrest-report law and the state jail-records standards rather than from a live web profile. These are the kinds of details a booking or arrest record can contain when released under a records request.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name and identifiers | Full name, age, and address, per Illinois arrest-report law. |
| Booking photograph | A booking photo when one is available and not restricted. |
| Charges | The arrest charges, which can differ from charges the prosecutor later files. |
| Arrest details | Time, location, and the arresting or investigating agency. |
| Custody times | When the person was received, discharged, or transferred. |
| Housing and classification | The housing assignment set during intake under jail standards. |
A few terms come up often when reading any custody record.
- Booking
- The intake process right after an arrest, including identification, screening, and property.
- Pretrial release
- Release under court-ordered conditions before a case is decided.
- Detainer
- A hold placed by another agency that can keep a person in custody.
- Mittimus
- The court commitment record corrections uses once a person is sentenced.
- MSR
- Mandatory supervised release, the supervised period that follows a state prison term.
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
People mix up the county jail and state prison constantly, and they use different lookup systems. Pretrial detainees and short-sentence inmates stay in the Macoupin County Jail. Sentenced felons move to a state prison run by the Illinois Department of Corrections, which has its own locator. Matching the person to the right system saves a lot of wasted searching.
| County Jail | State Prison (DOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pre-trial + short sentences | Sentenced felons |
| Run By | Macoupin County Sheriff | Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) |
| Where to Look | Sheriff app or jail phone | State inmate locator |
| Stays Listed | While in county custody | Through the state sentence |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Beyond the county jail, three other systems cover different slices of the inmate population. The state locator handles sentenced Illinois prisoners. The federal Bureau of Prisons locator covers people in federal custody from 1982 forward. The ICE detainee locator covers adults held in immigration custody. None of these is a county jail roster, and each answers a different question about where a person is held.
The state's main search is the first stop for anyone who has been sentenced and transferred out of the county.
The Illinois Department of Corrections inmate search looks up sentenced state prisoners, and an older IDOC search form still accepts a last name, IDOC number, or birthdate.
For federal or immigration custody, use the federal Bureau of Prisons locator or the ICE detainee locator instead, and register with Illinois VINE for release alerts.
Macoupin County Detention Facilities
The county inmate population is held in a single official facility. No state prison, federal prison, or immigration detention center operates inside Macoupin County, and no separate municipal jail roster was found for the cities in the county. Arrests across the county route to the one jail below.
- Macoupin County Jail - The county jail in Carlinville, holding pre-trial detainees, short-sentence inmates, warrant arrests, and people awaiting transfer to state prison.
Macoupin County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Macoupin County inmate population?
The most recent official snapshot is 59 people, recorded at the October 1, 2024 state jail inspection. That count was 54 men and 5 women. The jail is rated for 93 beds, so it sat at about 63 percent of capacity that day. The number changes daily with arrests, releases, and transfers, so it is a snapshot rather than a fixed figure.
How do I search the Macoupin County inmate population?
Start with the Macoupin County Sheriff IL mobile app, which appears to show current custody. If the app does not have the person or you cannot use it, call the jail at 217-854-3135. There is no public website roster, so the app and the jail phone line are the main current-custody channels. Sentenced people are searched in the state locator instead.
Can I look up a released or past inmate?
There is no public archive of past Macoupin County bookings online. For an older booking or arrest record, file a written public-records request with the county and include the name and approximate date. If the person went to state prison, their record stays in the state locator for the length of the sentence, and Illinois VINE can confirm a release.
Is the Macoupin County Jail overcrowded?
Not on either recent inspection. The jail was at 52 people in November 2023 and 59 people in October 2024, both below the 93-bed rated capacity. No overcrowding order or capacity lawsuit was found in the official sources reviewed.
Where do I find the charges filed after an arrest?
Booking charges and the formal court charges are not always the same. The prosecutor decides what to file, and the case record is kept by the Circuit Clerk and searchable through the county court portal. The court records after a jail arrest page explains how to track those charges and their status.
What if the person was taken into federal or immigration custody?
Those people are not in the county jail count. Use the federal Bureau of Prisons locator for federal inmates and the ICE detainee locator for immigration custody. Federal pretrial holds may run through the U.S. Marshals, which does not publish a public roster the way county systems sometimes do.