The Washington County Inmate Population
The Washington County inmate population is reported most clearly in the Washington County Sheriff's Office 2023 Annual Report. That report counts adults housed in the jail, adults on electronic monitoring, and juveniles held in the co-located secure juvenile detention center. In 2023, the jail reported an in-house adult average daily population of 170, a total adult average daily population of 184 when electronic monitoring is included, and a total population average daily population of 195 when juvenile detention is also counted. Those numbers describe daily custody load, not the number of unique people booked during the year.
The county's detention map is compact. The Washington County Jail is the adult facility operated by the Sheriff's Office. The Washington County Secure Juvenile Detention Center is separate in legal purpose even though it is also at the Rolfs Avenue jail complex. State-sentenced adults from Washington County are not counted as local jail inmates once they move into the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Federal and immigration custody use BOP or ICE systems, even when a local detainer affects release from the jail.
Washington County Inmate Statistics
The 2023 annual report gives the strongest sourced picture of the Washington County inmate population. It reports average daily population, admissions, adult booking sex totals, juvenile bookings, meals served, warrant transports, and the role of electronic monitoring. A rated bed capacity was not published in the official jail pages or in the annual report located for this build, so capacity should not be converted into an overcrowding percentage.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Adult in-house average daily population | 170 | Washington County Sheriff's Office Annual Report, 2023 |
| Total adult ADP including electronic monitoring | 184 | Washington County Sheriff's Office Annual Report, 2023 |
| Juvenile detention ADP | 11 | Washington County Sheriff's Office Annual Report, 2023 |
| Total population ADP | 195 | Washington County Sheriff's Office Annual Report, 2023 |
| Adult admissions | 3,650 | Washington County Sheriff's Office Annual Report, 2023 |
| Juvenile bookings | 255 | Washington County Sheriff's Office Annual Report, 2023 |
| Rated bed capacity | Not published in located official sources | County jail pages and annual report checked |
Washington County Jail Trends
Washington County's six-year jail data shows a sharp decline in 2020, followed by a partial rebound in bookings and a stable average population in 2022 and 2023. Total population ADP fell from 245 in 2018 to 177 in 2020. By 2023, it was 195, which was still below the 2018 and 2019 levels. Electronic monitoring helped absorb some custody pressure during the low point and remained part of the jail's population-management system after the pandemic-era decline.
| Year | In-house Adult ADP | Total Adult ADP | Juvenile ADP | Total Population ADP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 232 | 240 | 5 | 245 |
| 2019 | 213 | 218 | 7 | 225 |
| 2020 | 149 | 171 | 6 | 177 |
| 2021 | 149 | 177 | 6 | 183 |
| 2022 | 166 | 186 | 10 | 196 |
| 2023 | 170 | 184 | 11 | 195 |
Washington County Booking Counts
Admissions tell a different story from the average daily count. A person booked and released quickly can appear in admissions without changing the daily population much. The annual report counted 3,650 adult admissions in 2023, with 2,675 male admissions and 975 female admissions. Adult booking age averaged 36.22, with a reported range from 16 to 81. Juvenile detention booked 255 youth in 2023, including 158 male and 97 female bookings, with an average age of 15.58.
| Year | Adult Male Admissions | Adult Female Admissions | Total Adult Admissions | Juvenile Bookings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 3,138 | 1,112 | 4,250 | 220 |
| 2019 | 3,073 | 1,146 | 4,219 | 206 |
| 2020 | 2,211 | 765 | 2,976 | 167 |
| 2021 | 2,475 | 865 | 3,340 | 161 |
| 2022 | 2,527 | 870 | 3,397 | 290 |
| 2023 | 2,675 | 975 | 3,650 | 255 |
Washington County Jail Capacity
No official rated bed capacity was located in the county jail pages or the 2023 annual report. That limits what can be said about overcrowding. The documented facts are the average daily population, the use of electronic monitoring, and the adult and juvenile booking trends. The Electronic Monitoring Program is described by the Sheriff's Office as a structured alternative using GPS technology, home visits, and alcohol monitoring devices, with eligibility reviewed case by case.
Electronic monitoring does not erase jail custody. It is part of the county correctional system and counts toward the total adult average daily population in the annual report. Huber work release also affects the visible jail population because a sentenced inmate may remain confined to the jail while leaving during approved hours for work, school, treatment, medical care, court, childcare, or another court-approved reason.
Washington County Jail Record Laws
Wisconsin law supplies the public-records framework behind jail and inmate information. It does not require Washington County to run a public roster website. It does require records custodians to handle requests under state records law, subject to statutory limits, exemptions, and the balancing test used for law-enforcement records.
Key Wisconsin rules:
Wis. Stat. § 19.31 states Wisconsin's policy that the public is entitled to broad information about government affairs and official acts.
Wis. Stat. § 19.35 gives requesters the right to inspect records, subject to limits, and ties law-enforcement records to the proper custodian.
Wis. Stat. § 302.37 covers jail maintenance, prisoner care, food, cleanliness, and classification.
Wis. Admin. Code ch. DOC 350 sets minimum standards for Wisconsin jails and houses of correction.
Wis. Stat. ch. 979 covers death reporting and autopsy rules, including correctional-inmate contexts.
Washington County Prison Transfers
Once a person is sentenced to state prison, the search path changes. The county jail is a local facility for pretrial custody, short county sentences, Huber, electronic monitoring, warrants, and other holds. State prison custody is handled by the Wisconsin DOC Inmate and Offender Search. The annual report shows this transition in transport data: Washington County reported 125 "New to Prison" transports in 2023, meaning transports from the jail to state prison to begin new prison sentences.
No Wisconsin DOC adult prison was found inside Washington County on the state correctional-institution list by county. That means a Washington County court case can produce a prison sentence, but the person will be searched through statewide DOC systems after transfer. DOC itself warns that a person not found in the DOC locator may still be in a city or county jail, which is separately administered, or may be tracked for notification through Wisconsin VINELink.
Search Washington County Inmates
The official Washington County website did not publish a current inmate roster or clickable inmate-profile search during the research pass. Current custody questions therefore start with the jail information line and the sheriff records process. The person's full name, date of birth if known, approximate arrest date, and arresting agency help staff or the records custodian locate the right record.
For people already charged in circuit court, the public court index is the better public search tool. Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, often called WCCA or CCAP, shows case numbers, filed charges, hearings, court activity, bond notations, and dispositions. It is not a jail roster and it does not show every booking detail.
- For a same-day or recent arrest, call Washington County Jail/Corrections at 262-335-4427. Use 262-335-4411 for non-emergency evening or weekend routing.
- If the requested booking detail is not available by phone, use the Sheriff's Open Records process in person, by phone, or by mail.
- Search WCCA by defendant name or case number after formal charges are filed by the prosecutor.
- Search the Wisconsin DOC locator for sentenced state-prison custody or supervision records.
- Use BOP or ICE systems only for federal custody or immigration detention, not ordinary county jail cases.
- Register with VINELink when release or transfer notice matters more than a copy of the record.
Washington County Lookup Channels
The county roster field table is short because no official public roster form was located. The useful search fields are found in the fallback systems. WCCA can be searched by case number, county, party name, date of birth where requested, and case type. DOC can be searched by name or DOC number for sentenced state custody. BOP and ICE require their own federal identifiers or biographical fields.
| Channel | Best Use | Search Details |
|---|---|---|
| Washington County Jail phone | Same-day or current jail custody | Name, date of birth, arrest date, and agency help staff locate the person. |
| Sheriff open records | Booking record, photo, incident report, or contact record | Requests may be made in person, by phone, or by mail; most receive a response target of ten working days. |
| WCCA/CCAP | Filed criminal court cases | Search by case number, Washington County, defendant name, date of birth when used, and case type. |
| Wisconsin DOC locator | State prison or supervision | Search by name, DOC number, sex or gender filter, and birth information when available. |
| BOP locator | Federal inmate custody since 1982 | Search by name, register number, race, sex, and age on the federal locator. |
| ICE ODLS | Immigration detention | Search by A-number and country or by biographical details. |
Washington County Inmate Records
A Washington County jail booking record is different from a WCCA court case and different from a DOC prison profile. The county record may cover intake, booking date, arresting agency, bond, property, medical handling, and classification. WCCA begins when a court case exists. DOC begins when a person enters state correctional custody or supervision.
| Field | What It Shows or Where to Get It |
|---|---|
| Name and identifiers | Used by jail staff or records staff to locate the right person; disclosure may be limited. |
| Booking date and time | Request from sheriff records if not provided by phone. |
| Booking photo | Requested through sheriff records; no official county mugshot gallery was found. |
| Charges | Booking labels can differ from prosecutor-filed charges shown on WCCA. |
| Bond | Use the jail, Clerk of Courts, and WCCA depending on time of day and case type. |
| Housing or classification | Not published online; Wisconsin jail standards require a classification system. |
County Jail vs State Prison
Search errors often come from using the wrong custody system. Washington County Jail is the local facility for adult pretrial detainees, sentenced county jail inmates, Huber participants, warrants, municipal-sentence inmates, and some holds. Wisconsin DOC covers sentenced state-prison custody. BOP covers federal prison custody. ICE ODLS covers immigration detention.
| Question | Washington County Jail | Wisconsin DOC | Federal or ICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who appears there? | Local adult jail inmates and local holds | Sentenced state prisoners or supervision records | Federal inmates or immigration detainees |
| Who runs it? | Washington County Sheriff's Office | Wisconsin Department of Corrections | BOP or ICE |
| Public lookup | No official public roster located; use phone and records | DOC Inmate and Offender Search | BOP locator or ICE ODLS |
| Photo source | Sheriff records request if releasable | DOC profile may show a state photo | No public BOP mugshot gallery |
Washington County Detention Facilities
The Washington County inmate population is housed through two official local detention facilities. The adult jail handles the public custody questions most readers mean by inmate search. The juvenile facility has tighter access limits because juvenile matters are not public in the same way adult jail and circuit-court records are.
- Washington County Jail holds adult pretrial detainees, sentenced county jail inmates, Huber inmates, people held on warrants, municipal-sentence inmates, state-prisoner contract holds, and other agency holds.
- Washington County Secure Juvenile Detention Center holds juveniles detained by court order and also serves youth from other Wisconsin counties because secure juvenile beds are regional.
Washington County Records Sources
The Washington County Sheriff's Office homepage is the parent source for the jail, corrections, records, and detention programs.
That sheriff source matters because current custody questions route through the Sheriff's Office rather than an official public roster.
The Sheriff's Open Records page is the fallback for booking records, photos, incident reports, and other sheriff-created records that are not posted online.
Open records are especially important in Washington County because the research did not locate an official public inmate roster or mugshot gallery.
Washington County Inmate FAQ
How big is the Washington County inmate population?
The 2023 Sheriff's Office Annual Report listed a total population ADP of 195. That included 170 in-house adult ADP, 14 electronic monitoring adult ADP, and 11 juvenile detention ADP.
Can Washington County inmates be searched online?
No official Washington County, Wisconsin public jail roster was located on the county website. Current jail custody starts with Jail/Corrections by phone and the sheriff records process. Court charges are searched through WCCA after filing.
Where are sentenced prison inmates found?
Sentenced state-prison inmates are searched through the Wisconsin DOC Inmate and Offender Search. Federal custody uses BOP, and immigration detention uses ICE ODLS.
Are juvenile detainees public inmate records?
No. Juvenile detention is more restricted than adult jail custody. Parents, guardians, attorneys, or authorized parties should use the Juvenile Detention phone or the court/agency handling the juvenile matter.