Washington County Inmate Population Overview
Washington County has one local jail for county custody and two Minnesota Department of Corrections prisons inside county lines. The Washington County Jail Division runs the local jail at the Law Enforcement Center in Stillwater. It holds adult men and women who are waiting for court, serving local sentences, held on warrants, or held for other agencies. The jail also operates a temporary juvenile holding unit, but juvenile custody details are private and are not treated as a separate public facility page.
The state-prison part of the Washington County inmate population is different. Minnesota Correctional Facility - Stillwater and Minnesota Correctional Facility - Oak Park Heights hold sentenced adult men under Minnesota DOC authority. They are not searched through the county jail roster. A person arrested in Woodbury, Stillwater, Oakdale, Cottage Grove, Forest Lake, Bayport, Oak Park Heights, St. Paul Park, or by the State Patrol may first appear in Washington County jail records, then later move to court records or the DOC locator if the case leads to a state-prison sentence.
Washington County Inmate Population Statistics
Official local sources give several useful snapshots. The county jail is a 228-bed direct-supervision facility. The 2024 PREA audit reported an average daily population of 146 for the prior 12 months and 140 people in custody on the first audit day. The adult roster PDF inspected on June 18, 2026 listed 107 active inmates at 10:00 a.m. County budget material reported 5,378 jail bookings with an average daily population of 139 for 2023, while a later county budget item reported 3,846 adult bookings, 129 juvenile bookings, and an average daily population of 138.
| Measure | Figure | Source / date |
|---|---|---|
| Washington County Jail capacity | 228 adult beds | Jail Division page and 2024 PREA audit |
| Average daily population | 146 | PREA audit, final January 2024 |
| Adult roster count | 107 active inmates | Roster PDF, June 18, 2026 |
| 2023 bookings | 5,378 inmates | County budget/news release |
| MCF-Stillwater on-site count | 463 adult offenders | DOC profile, June 1, 2026 |
| MCF-Oak Park Heights on-site count | 357 adult offenders | DOC profile, June 2, 2026 |
Washington County Jail Population Trends
The jail figures show a county jail operating below its adult bed count in the snapshots located for this build. That does not mean a specific housing unit is always open or that a release will be quick. Classification, medical needs, warrants, segregation status, court timing, and holds for other agencies can all affect where a person is placed and whether the jail can release them after bond is posted. The PREA audit also noted U.S. Marshals Service holds and other-county warrant holds, which can keep a person in custody even when the local case appears ready for release.
| Year or date | Population measure | Local note |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ADP 139; 5,378 bookings | County budget/news release |
| 2023/2024 PREA period | ADP 146; first audit day 140 | 228 capacity and 11 housing units |
| Later county budget item | ADP 138; 3,846 adult bookings | Also reported 129 juvenile bookings |
| June 18, 2026 | 107 active inmates | Adult roster PDF timestamp |
For a reader, the trend table is best used as context, not as a live count. The active roster is the current-custody tool. Budget releases and audits explain jail workload, capacity, staffing pressure, and long-term planning. The state-prison profiles explain the sentenced population physically housed in Washington County but controlled by the Minnesota DOC.
Washington County Jail Capacity
The Washington County Jail opened in June 1993 as a direct-supervision jail. Official sources describe 228 designated adult beds, 11 housing units in the PREA audit, laundry, kitchen, medical exam rooms, a dentist's office, and a transport unit operating five days per week. The same sources describe general population, administrative segregation, and segregation classifications. Those classifications matter because a jail can be below rated capacity overall while still having limits in a specific unit.
No official jail overcrowding order, DOJ investigation, or consent decree was located in the research file. The strongest sourced capacity point is that recent ADP figures, the PREA first-day count, and the June 2026 active roster count were each below the 228-bed adult capacity. The public Washington County inmate population should still be checked through the roster and phone line because the count changes throughout the day.
Population note: A roster count is a point-in-time list. It is not the same as annual bookings, average daily population, or state-prison population.
Washington County Inmate Records Laws
Minnesota public-data law shapes what appears in Washington County inmate population records. Minn. Stat. 13.03 creates the basic rule that government data are public unless another law classifies them otherwise. Minn. Stat. 13.82 covers law-enforcement data, including arrest data and booking photographs. Minn. Stat. 13.85 covers corrections and detention data, which helps explain why public jail records can show booking details while withholding medical, psychological, financial, unrelated personal, or safety-sensitive information.
Key access rules:
Minn. Stat. 13.03 sets the public-data presumption for government records.
Minn. Stat. 13.82 governs arrest data and booking-photo access.
Minnesota Rules chapter 2911 covers jail admission, release, classification, grievance, security, and welfare standards.
Search Washington County Inmates
The main current-custody source is the official Adult Inmate Roster Report PDF. It is free and does not require a login. It is also not a typical search portal. There is no visible name-search form in the captured roster. Open the PDF, use the browser or PDF find command, and search by last name, first name, booking number, or JID. The roster shows active inmates only, so a person who was released, transferred, or newly booked may require another source.
- Open the Adult Inmate Roster Report PDF from Washington County.
- Use the PDF find tool and start with the last name.
- Compare the JID, booking date, booking number, release estimate, and days confined.
- Check the daily booking reports if the roster does not show charges or arrest details.
- Call the jail at 651-430-7900 when the online records do not match what the family or court says.
| Roster field | What it means | Search tip |
|---|---|---|
| Last and first name | Name listed on the active jail roster | Try spelling variants |
| JID # | Washington County jail ID | Useful for records requests |
| Booking # | Number for that jail booking | Compare with booking report |
| Release Est. | Estimated release field | Call before relying on it |
| # Days | Days confined as of the report | Changes as the roster updates |
Washington County Booking Reports
The Daily Jail Booking Report is often richer than the active roster. It uses Sunday through Saturday PDF links and covers a 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. reporting window. The sample report includes booking number, age, name, arrest time, booking time, booking type, arresting officer, arrest location, 36-hour and 48-hour hold fields, charge severity, statute, charge description, and the agency tied to the charge. It does not show mugshots.
The county booking reports are especially useful after a recent arrest because they can show a bench warrant, a pending charge, an under-sentence booking, or a hold for another agency. They are still jail records, not final court records. Formal charges can differ once the prosecutor files a complaint and the court case appears in Minnesota Court Records Online.
The county's daily booking index shows the day-of-week PDF links and public-data notice.
The booking index supports searches for new arrests when the active roster PDF is too compact to answer charge or arrest-timing questions.
Washington County Custody Systems
The most common mistake is searching the wrong system. The county jail roster covers local custody at Washington County Jail. The Minnesota DOC locator covers adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections, including people in prison or released on supervision. The BOP locator covers sentenced federal prisoners and people released from federal custody since 1982. ICE ODLS covers immigration detainees. A Washington County arrest may touch more than one system if a court sentence, federal hold, immigration detainer, or other-agency warrant is involved.
| System | Who it covers | Best lookup |
|---|---|---|
| County jail | Pretrial detainees, local sentences, warrants, holds | Washington County roster and booking PDFs |
| State prison | Sentenced Minnesota DOC prisoners | Minnesota DOC Locator |
| Federal custody | BOP sentenced prisoners or USMS context | BOP Inmate Locator |
| Immigration detention | Civil ICE detainees | ICE Online Detainee Locator |
Washington County Detention Facilities
The facility list has three public pages for this build. Washington County Jail is the county facility for current local custody. MCF-Stillwater and MCF-Oak Park Heights are state prisons in Washington County, but they hold sentenced DOC prisoners and use the statewide DOC locator. No separate BOP prison, ICE detention center, or federal detention facility was located inside Washington County.
- Washington County Jail: county jail for adult pretrial detainees, local sentences, warrants, and agency holds.
- Minnesota Correctional Facility - Stillwater: DOC Level 2 Minimum and Level 4 Close state prison for sentenced adult men.
- Minnesota Correctional Facility - Oak Park Heights: DOC Level 5 maximum-custody prison with specialized medical, mental-health, and Administrative Control Unit functions.
Washington County Records Requests
When the roster or booking report omits a field, the official fallback is the Sheriff's Office records process. The Request a Report page links to the Sheriff's NextRequest portal and notes in-person request options. The Law Enforcement Public Data page says the Records Unit can answer report-copy and incident-data questions at 651-430-7600. For arrest or detention data, the booking report page points Washington County Sheriff's data requests to 651-430-7900.
The county's records request page documents the official request path for reports and data.
Use the booking number, JID, booking date, and arresting agency from the roster or daily report when asking for a record.
Washington County Court Path
Jail booking information is not the same as a court case. After arrest and booking, an in-custody person must be brought before a judge without unnecessary delay under Minnesota Rule of Criminal Procedure 4. The Washington County Attorney or a municipal prosecutor may then file charges in Washington County District Court. Court records after a jail arrest are searched in Minnesota Court Records Online, using the name, case number, citation number, or county filter when available.
Washington County District Court is on the same Stillwater government-center campus as the jail and Law Enforcement Center. That local geography matters for bail, records, and first-appearance questions, but the correct counter depends on the task and time of day.
Washington County Custody Terms
Several short terms appear often in jail and court records. Knowing them makes the Washington County inmate population easier to interpret.
- Booking
- The jail intake record created after arrest, warrant pickup, commitment, or transfer.
- JID
- The Washington County jail identification number listed in the active roster PDF.
- Bench warrant
- A warrant issued by a judge, often after missed court or a court-order violation.
- Detainer
- A notice or request from another agency that may delay release or transfer custody.
- DOC
- The Minnesota Department of Corrections, which manages sentenced state prisoners and supervised release.
Washington County Inmate Population FAQ
Does Washington County have a searchable jail roster? The official current roster is a PDF, not a normal search form. Use the PDF find command and then check daily booking PDFs for charge detail.
Why is someone not listed? The person may have been released, not yet posted to the PDF, transferred to DOC, held federally, or listed under a different spelling.
Do the county pages show mugshots? The active roster and inspected daily booking report did not show mugshots. Minnesota law treats booking photos as public unless an active-investigation withholding applies, so requests go through official records channels.
Which locator covers state prisoners in Washington County? Use the Minnesota DOC Locator for MCF-Stillwater and MCF-Oak Park Heights. The county jail roster does not cover sentenced DOC prisoners.
Can the release estimate be trusted? Treat it as a clue, not a promise. The roster may show blanks or placeholder-like dates, and holds or court orders can change release timing.
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Washington County Jail Directions
The jail and Sheriff's Law Enforcement Center are at 15015 62nd Street North in Stillwater, near the Washington County Government Center and District Court campus. Bail, court, records, and jail visits may involve different counters on the same campus, so confirm the destination before driving.