Mercer County Inmate Population
The Mercer County inmate population is centered on the Mercer County Detention Facility, the full-service county jail operated by the Mercer County Sheriff's Office. The jail holds adults booked after local arrests, people awaiting court, sentenced misdemeanor inmates, court holds, transport holds, and some people housed for other agencies. It is not the lookup source for every person with a Mercer County case. A felony defendant who has been sentenced to Ohio prison moves into the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction offender search, and federal or immigration custody uses separate federal systems.
The official facility map also includes the Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation Center, known as the WORTH Center. WORTH is a regional community based correctional facility in Lima that can serve Mercer County through court-ordered residential treatment and sanctions. It is not a new-arrest jail roster. For a person just arrested in Celina, Coldwater, St. Henry, Fort Recovery, Rockford, Mendon, or elsewhere in Mercer County, the local jail roster and the jail phone line remain the first custody checks.
Mercer County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest local capacity source in the research is the 2017 NEOMED Mercer County Sequential Intercept Mapping report, which gave the jail a rated capacity of 104 and an average jail population above 80. The sheriff's live inmate search, inspected June 24, 2026, displayed 57 current inmates in jail. The 2022 sheriff annual report gives month-by-month average daily inmate counts from 42 to 67, along with bookings, other-agency housing, meals, work release money, and commissary figures.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Rated jail capacity | 104 | NEOMED Mercer SIM report, 2017 |
| Average jail population | More than 80 | NEOMED Mercer SIM report, 2017 |
| Estimated pretrial share | 74% | NEOMED Mercer SIM report, 2017 |
| Live current inmates | 57 | Sheriff inmate search, inspected June 24, 2026 |
| 2022 monthly ADP range | 42 to 67 | Mercer County Sheriff's Office 2022 annual report |
| 2022 new booking range | 62 to 108 per month | Mercer County Sheriff's Office 2022 annual report |
Mercer County Jail Population Trends
The 2022 annual report is useful because it shows the Mercer County inmate population as a month-to-month operating count instead of a single snapshot. Average daily count was lowest in February and March and highest in July. Housing for other agencies also changed by month, from 19 to 32. Those figures matter because a jail can look different on a live roster day than it does across an annual cycle.
The live roster count of 57 on June 24, 2026 was about 55 percent of the 104-bed capacity listed in NEOMED's 2017 report. The busiest 2022 average month, July at 67, was about 64 percent of that same capacity. NEOMED's 2017 average above 80 was around 77 percent or more. These are simple calculations from the cited figures, not official utilization rates.
| 2022 Month | Average Daily Count | Other-Agency Housing | New Bookings |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47 | 20 | 85 |
| February | 42 | 20 | 83 |
| March | 42 | 25 | 77 |
| April | 51 | 24 | 84 |
| May | 53 | 19 | 73 |
| June | 65 | 26 | 108 |
| July | 67 | 32 | 104 |
| August | 62 | 27 | 68 |
| September | 60 | 26 | 93 |
| October | 64 | 27 | 74 |
| November | 61 | 25 | 86 |
| December | 53 | 19 | 62 |
Who Counts in Mercer Jail
The Mercer County inmate population is not one uniform group. NEOMED estimated that 74 percent of the jail population was pretrial in 2017, which means many people had not been convicted on the pending charge that brought them to jail. The roster may also show people serving short local sentences, people held on warrants or detainers, and inmates housed for other agencies. The 2022 annual report tracked other-agency housing as its own monthly chart.
- Pretrial
- In custody after arrest while the case is pending, before final conviction or dismissal.
- Sentenced misdemeanor
- A short local sentence that may be served in the county jail rather than state prison.
- Detainer
- A hold from another court, county, state, federal, or supervision agency.
- ODRC custody
- Ohio state prison or Adult Parole Authority supervision, searched outside the county jail roster.
Laws Governing Mercer Inmates
Ohio law shapes what the public can see about the Mercer County inmate population and what jail officials must report. The local roster is useful, but it remains a jail information system, not the final court judgment. Public records, jail standards, inmate records, and bail rules each answer a different question.
The sheriff records-request page adds one local rule that matters in practice. It cites ORC 149.43(B)(5) and says a requester is not required to complete the form or list a name and address, although providing contact details helps staff notify the requester when records are ready. Records can still be redacted, and costs are provided when the request is completed or available.
Key Statutes:
ORC 149.43 covers Ohio public-record access and exceptions, including redactions and confidential law-enforcement material.
ORC 5120.21 governs the limited inmate information ODRC may disclose for state prisoners and supervision cases.
OAC 5120:1-7-01 gives Ohio's jail bureau authority over jail standards data and critical-incident reporting.
ORC 2937.011 addresses bail schedules and least-costly financial conditions that can affect pretrial jail population.
Search Mercer County Inmates
The official Mercer County Sheriff's Office Jail Inmate Search is the primary online source for current and past county jail inmates. It is free and does not require a login. The page supports active, inactive, and active-last-24-hours searches, so it can cover both current custody and some prior bookings. Results show a photo column, full name, age, and details link.
The roster is the right first step for a new local arrest, a recent booking, a family custody check, or a bond question. It is not the right tool for a person already sentenced to an Ohio prison, a federal BOP inmate, or an ICE detainee unless that person is physically booked into the Mercer jail on a local hold.
- Open the sheriff inmate search and choose Active for a current-custody check.
- Enter the last name, add the first name if the result set is too broad, and use booking-date fields when the date range is known.
- Use Active - Last 24 Hours for a very recent arrest, or Inactive for a person who may have been released.
- Open View Details to read booking agency, booking date, charges, court, case number, bail amount, and bond type.
- Use the profile's Release Notification link for VINELink and Deposit Money link for JailATM when those actions apply.
The sheriff roster screenshot in the manifest shows the actual search form and status filters on the official site.
View the official Mercer jail inmate search source before reading the fields below.
The form matches the research capture: name fields, booking-date fields, and status choices for active, inactive, and last-24-hour inmates.
Mercer Roster Search Fields
The Mercer County inmate search offers a compact field set. A broad active search can return the whole current list, while names and booking dates narrow the results.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | Unspecified | Search by last name; blank active searches can show the current list. |
| First Name | Text | Unspecified | Use to narrow common last names. |
| From Booking Date | Date/text | Unspecified | Start of a booking-date range. |
| Thru Booking Date | Date/text | Unspecified | End of a booking-date range. |
| Inmate Status | Status choices | Unspecified | Active, Inactive, or Active - Last 24 Hours. |
Mercer Inmate Record Fields
A Mercer County inmate profile connects jail custody to court information, but it should not be treated as the final court record. The sample official profile inspected in the research showed a top navigation link back to search, a Previous Charges link, Deposit Money, and Release Notification. It also showed physical descriptors and a charge table with court and bond details.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Photo | Roster results include a photo column tied to booking-photo display. |
| Booking Date | The date booked into Mercer County Detention Facility. |
| Booking Agency | The arresting or booking agency, such as the sheriff's office. |
| Physical Descriptors | Hair color, eye color, height, weight, and age. |
| Charges | Charge title, degree, count, statute number, and disposition. |
| Court and Case | Next court date if shown, court name, and case number. |
| Bail and Bond | Per-charge bail amount and bond type when posted in the jail profile. |
County State Federal Custody
A common search error is using the Mercer jail roster for every person with a Mercer County connection. The county roster covers local jail custody and some past county bookings. The ODRC locator covers Ohio prison and supervision records. BOP, U.S. Marshals, and ICE systems cover federal and immigration custody. VINELink is a notification service, not a full case search, but Mercer inmate profiles link to it for release notification.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer county jail | Sheriff inmate search | Current and past county jail inmates. |
| Ohio prison or APA supervision | ODRC offender search | Sentenced prison, release, supervision, and violator-at-large records. |
| Federal sentenced prisoner | BOP inmate locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present. |
| Immigration detention | ICE detainee locator | Adult ICE custody by A-number or biographical search. |
| Release notices | Ohio VINELink | Custody status notifications for participating records. |
Mercer County Detention Facilities
Mercer County has one primary county jail and one regional treatment facility that serves Mercer through court placement. No state prison, BOP institution, or ICE detention center was located inside Mercer County in the research.
- Mercer County Detention Facility - full-service adult county jail for local arrests, pretrial custody, sentenced misdemeanors, holds, transport holds, and other-agency housing.
- Western Ohio Regional Treatment and Habilitation Center (WORTH Center) - regional community based correctional facility for court-ordered treatment and sanctions serving Mercer and eight other counties.
Mercer County Inmate FAQ
How large is the Mercer County inmate population?
The official live roster showed 57 current inmates on June 24, 2026. The 2017 NEOMED report listed a 104-bed rated capacity and an average population above 80, while the 2022 sheriff annual report showed average daily count ranging from 42 to 67 by month.
Where are past Mercer County inmates searched?
The sheriff inmate search includes Active, Inactive, and Active - Last 24 Hours status filters. For jail records not shown online, use the sheriff public records request and identify the person, date, location, and report number if known.
Who confirms bond or release?
Use the roster as a starting point, then call Mercer County Corrections before travel or payment. Bond terms can change after a hearing, and a separate warrant, detainer, supervision hold, federal hold, or no-bond order can block release.