Washington County Inmate Population
Washington County's jail population is centered on Purgatory Correctional Facility, the sheriff-operated jail in Hurricane. The county describes the jail as the place for local arrest custody, short local sentences, court commitments, warrants, Adult Probation and Parole holds, and selected state inmates placed through the Utah Department of Corrections Inmate Placement Program. Local police departments, including St. George, Washington City, Hurricane, La Verkin, Springdale, and Santa Clara-Ivins, book arrestees into the county jail unless another official source says a different facility is used.
The Washington County inmate population is not just one live count. A county summary gives an average jail population, the public roster gives a point-in-time list, the booking report gives recent intake detail, and state corrections records may apply after sentencing. That mix matters because a person can be physically at Purgatory while the correct long-term record path is the Utah Department of Corrections locator. A federal defendant or immigration hold can also appear in a local booking report while the broader federal or immigration case is tracked outside the county system.
Washington County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest official local figures come from Washington County's own department summary and WCSO's public roster. The county says the Sheriff's Office has about 160 employees, covers about 2,500 square miles, houses an average of 460 jail inmates, and partners with UDC to house 180 state inmates. The WCSO alpha roster inspected on July 1, 2026 showed about 375 linked name rows at the report timestamp. That roster number is a snapshot, not a certified average daily population.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Average jail population | 460 inmates | Washington County departments page, current page viewed for research |
| State inmates housed locally | 180 state inmates | Washington County departments page |
| Roster snapshot | About 375 linked rows | WCSO current alpha roster, July 1, 2026 |
| Total rated capacity | Not located | Official web sources reviewed did not publish a total rated bed figure |
Washington County Jail Population Trends
Official trend data is limited, so the safest trend picture uses the public projects and counts that were located. County press material described a low-security worker housing building planned in 2018 to replace temporary work-release buildings. The same county source said the new building was designed for about 128 low-risk inmates. A 2022 county RFP then described a new Purgatory medical unit, housing expansion, and booking/release remodel. Those sources support a capacity-management history, but they do not prove a current certified bed count.
| Year or Date | Population or Capacity Point | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | About 128 low-risk beds planned | County Purgatory worker housing archive |
| 2022 | Capacity not stated | County RFP for medical unit, housing expansion, and booking/release remodel |
| Current county summary | Average 460 inmates and 180 state inmates | Washington County departments page |
| July 1, 2026 | About 375 roster rows | Point-in-time WCSO alpha roster snapshot |
Washington County Inmate Population Makeup
The public sources do not provide a demographic dashboard with age, race, sex, average length of stay, or annual bookings. WCSO booking reports do show the types of cases feeding the jail: warrants, new local arrests, court commitments, AP&P holds, ICE-related holds, and cases tied to district, justice, city, or federal court labels. Those fields are useful record clues, but they are not population statistics. The current roster lists only name number, name, and time incarcerated.
- Pretrial detainee
- A person held before the court case is finished.
- Commitment
- A court order requiring custody, often after sentencing or another court directive.
- AP&P hold
- A custody hold tied to Utah Adult Probation and Parole supervision.
- UDC placement
- A state inmate housed in a county jail under Utah's placement program.
Laws Governing Washington County Inmates
Utah's records laws and jail statutes shape what can be seen about the Washington County inmate population. Utah GRAMA governs public-record access, classifications, fees, and request procedures for sheriff records. Utah Code 17-72-408 deals with county jail reporting and public access on request to certain death-in-custody report information. Utah Code 64-13-1 supports the state-inmate placement point because it defines correctional custody terms, including inmates committed to UDC but housed in a county jail at UDC request.
Key statutes: Utah Code 63G-2-201 sets the public, private, controlled, and protected record framework. Utah Code 63G-2-204 covers records request response rules. Utah Administrative Rule R356-4 addresses juvenile detention limits in adult jails and lockups.
Washington County State Prison Population
There is no confirmed Utah state prison physically located in Washington County, but UDC records still matter. The county says Purgatory houses state inmates through its partnership with UDC. UDC explains that the Inmate Placement Program uses county jails because the state prison system lacks enough beds for all state inmates. UDC screens eligible people by security level, medical and mental-health needs, programming needs, conviction, institutional history, gang ties, and other management issues.
Use WCSO for pretrial or local jail custody. Use the UDC offender search for a person currently under UDC incarceration, probation, or parole supervision. The UDC page warns that people awaiting trial or not yet sentenced in county jails are not listed. The UDC offender-search page is relevant to the Washington County inmate population only when state supervision is the controlling custody status.
The Utah Department of Corrections offender search page shows the state-level lookup path for sentenced or supervised people and warns that unsentenced county-jail detainees are outside its scope.
That warning is important in Washington County because a no-result UDC search does not rule out current custody at Purgatory Correctional Facility.
Search Washington County Inmate Population
Washington County does not use one searchable jail database for every custody stage. The official WCSO current roster is a static alpha report. The five-day bookings page is the richer booking record. The 14-day release report is the short-term release fallback. A careful Washington County inmate lookup checks all three county reports before moving to UDC, Utah VINE, BOP, or ICE.
- Open the WCSO current inmate roster and use browser find because the page has no search form.
- Search last name first, then try spelling variants, hyphenated names, and compound surnames.
- Check the WCSO bookings report for recent booking detail, mugshot, PCF number, court label, charge, and required amount.
- Check the release summary if the person is no longer on the current roster.
- Call Purgatory Correctional Facility or file a WCSO GRAMA request when online reports do not answer the custody or record question.
Washington County Current Inmate Lookup
The current roster is titled as a Washington County Sheriff's Office Alpha-Roster and current inmate list by name. It lists a name number, the person's name, and the time incarcerated. It does not show a booking photo, charges, bond, court, housing unit, date of birth, or arresting agency. Name links on the roster point to a generic WCSO badge image rather than an inmate profile, so the roster should be treated as list-only current custody proof.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search field | None | Not applicable | No visible roster search form; use browser find on the alpha report. |
| Name # | Report column | Not applicable | Numeric PCF or name number. |
| Name | Report column | Not applicable | Last name, first name, and middle names or initials. |
| Time incarcerated | Report column | Not applicable | Time and date in the report format. |
Washington County Released Inmate Records
A missing name on the current roster does not prove the person was never booked. The person may have been released, transferred, booked under a different spelling, placed under state supervision, held federally, or outside the county report window. The WCSO release summary covers people released from Purgatory during the prior 14 days and gives the person released, address, and release time/date. It does not show charges, bond, mugshot, or court outcome.
For older booking records, the local fallback is WCSO's GRAMA request form. The form asks for requester identity, date of birth, mailing address, phone, email, the record requested, reason, and entitlement basis. WCSO states that a response is expected within 10 working days and that most report copies have a minimum cash fee. Court disposition still belongs with Utah Courts, not the release report.
Washington County Inmate Record Fields
The five-day bookings report is the best public source for what a detailed Washington County booking entry can show. It is not a search form, but each booking block may include a booking image, uppercase name, city and state, PCF number, arrest date and time, agency, custody status, charges, classification, statute, court, required amount, and payment status. Some expected details are absent from the public report.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Booking photo | Appears on many five-day booking entries, not on the alpha roster. |
| PCF number | Numeric identifier useful when calling the jail or filing GRAMA. |
| Agency | Can name WCSO, city police, AP&P, ICE, or corrections. |
| Court | Points to Fifth District Court, justice court, city justice court, or U.S. District St. George. |
| Not shown | Housing pod, full DOB, medical status, next court date, and certified official copy. |
Washington County Jail vs State Prison
The Washington County inmate population overlaps with state corrections because Purgatory can house selected UDC state inmates, but the lookup systems still differ. WCSO reports are the first stop for county jail custody, recent bookings, releases, bail/funds, visitation, and booking-record requests. UDC's offender search is the route for sentenced or supervised state offenders. BOP and ICE are separate systems and do not replace a county roster search.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| County jail | WCSO roster, bookings, releases | Pretrial, local sentence, warrants, commitments, local holds. |
| State corrections | UDC offender search | Current UDC incarceration, probation, and parole, not unsentenced county detainees. |
| Federal prison | BOP locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present. |
| Immigration custody | ICE ODLS | Current ICE custody or related detainee lookup paths. |
Washington County State and Federal Search
Use Utah VINELink for custody notification registration and custody-status alerts. Use BOP for sentenced federal prison custody. Use ICE ODLS for immigration detention, especially when the WCSO booking record shows Immigration/Customs Enforcement or an ICE hold. WCSO's contact page lists local ICE at (435) 674-8780, but a local ICE phone listing is not the same as a full federal detention facility page.
The Utah VINE portal is the notification layer for custody changes in Utah jails and prisons.
VINELink is useful for alerts, but it should be paired with the WCSO roster or the correct state/federal locator for the actual custody record.
Washington County Detention Facilities
The facility map has one confirmed detention facility for Washington County. City police agencies feed the jail through arrests, but no separate city jail, regional jail, state prison, BOP prison, or ICE facility page was confirmed in official sources for this county.
- Purgatory Correctional Facility - the sheriff-operated county jail for pretrial detainees, local commitments, warrants, AP&P holds, some ICE-related holds, and selected UDC state inmates.
Washington County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Washington County inmate population?
Washington County says the jail houses an average of 460 inmates and partners with UDC to house 180 state inmates. The public roster inspected July 1, 2026 showed about 375 linked name rows, but that is a point-in-time roster snapshot.
How do I search the Washington County inmate population?
Start with the WCSO current alpha roster, then check the five-day booking report and the 14-day release report. If the person is sentenced or state-supervised, use UDC. If federal or immigration custody is involved, use BOP or ICE.
Does the roster show every inmate record?
No. The alpha roster is list-only and does not show charges, mugshots, bond, court date, or housing. The bookings report shows more detail for recent bookings, and GRAMA requests are the fallback for records not posted online.