The Belmont County Inmate Population
Belmont County has two official custody systems inside the county line. The Belmont County Jail is the local full-service jail run by the Belmont County Sheriff's Office. It holds adult pretrial detainees, people serving local jail sentences, fugitives, probation or parole revocation holds, people waiting for state transfer, and prisoners booked by police departments across Belmont County. The separate Belmont Correctional Institution and Camp is an Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prison. It holds sentenced adult male state prisoners and is not searched through the sheriff's roster.
That split matters for every Belmont County inmate population question. A person arrested in Bellaire, Barnesville, Bridgeport, St. Clairsville, Richland Township, or by the sheriff may appear on the county roster while the case is pending. A person sentenced to an Ohio prison sentence moves to ODRC custody and may be housed at Belmont Correctional Institution or at another state prison. A person held for a federal or immigration matter may show up on the county roster while housed locally, but the long-term lookup path can shift to BOP, U.S. Marshals, or ICE tools.
Belmont County Inmate Population Statistics
Official public data supports a precise point-in-time view. The sheriff describes the Belmont County Jail as a 144-bed facility with 120 male beds and 24 female beds. The 2025 ODRC jail inspection used technical capacity terms: 146 actual general housing capacity, 144 recommended housing capacity, and 95 inmates on the August 27, 2025 inspection date. For the state prison in Belmont County, the February 12, 2026 Ohio Attorney General CFIS report listed 2,487 incarcerated persons against 2,713 total available capacity.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff-published jail capacity | 144 beds, with 120 male and 24 female spaces | Belmont County Sheriff's Office jail page, accessed 2026 |
| ODRC actual general housing capacity | 146 | ODRC 2025 Annual Jail Inspection |
| ODRC recommended jail capacity | 144 | ODRC 2025 Annual Jail Inspection |
| Jail count on inspection date | 95 inmates | ODRC inspection, August 27, 2025 |
| BECI current count | 2,487 incarcerated persons | Ohio Attorney General CFIS report, February 12, 2026 |
| BECI total available capacity | 2,713 | Ohio Attorney General CFIS report, February 12, 2026 |
| Belmont County population estimate | 64,692 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2024 estimate |
Belmont County Jail Capacity
The current official jail record does not support a blanket claim that the Belmont County Jail is overcrowded. The 2025 ODRC inspection counted 95 incarcerated persons against 144 recommended capacity, and the inspection letter found the jail met compliant-jail requirements. ODRC noted compliance with all essential standards and at least 90 percent of important standards. Two important standards were not met, both tied to lighting levels in inmate reading areas and inmate-accessible areas.
Older local news described higher jail counts and female-housing pressure, but those reports are dated historical context. The official current build should separate those older accounts from the 2025 inspection. For a current Belmont County inmate population estimate, the sheriff roster gives the daily custody report, while the ODRC inspection gives a verified inspection-day count. Annual bookings, average daily population, average length of stay, and race or ethnicity breakdowns were not located in official county or ODRC sources.
| Date or Source | Population / Capacity Figure | Use in Lookup Context |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff jail page, accessed 2026 | 144 public-facing beds | Local jail capacity description |
| ODRC inspection, August 27, 2025 | 95 inmates | Point-in-time jail population |
| ODRC inspection, August 27, 2025 | 146 actual / 144 recommended capacity | Technical jail-standard capacity |
| CFIS report, February 12, 2026 | 2,487 count / 2,713 capacity | State prison population, not county jail roster |
Who Is Counted in Belmont County
The local jail population is not limited to people convicted of crimes. The sheriff's jail page says the Belmont County Jail holds people awaiting trial, sentencing, state transfer, extradition, and probation or parole revocation action. It also houses people arrested by countywide police agencies and other federal agencies. Roster rows reflect that countywide role, with arresting agencies such as the Belmont County Sheriff's Office, Bellaire Police Department, Bridgeport Police Department, Barnesville Police Department, St. Clairsville Police Department, and Richland Township Police Department.
- Pretrial detainee
- A person held after arrest while the case is pending and before final conviction or sentence.
- Sentenced jail inmate
- A person serving a local jail sentence or waiting for a transfer after sentencing.
- Detainer
- A hold from another court or agency that can block release even when a local bond appears available.
- ODRC custody
- State prison or supervision custody handled by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Ohio Laws for Jail Records
Ohio law explains why much of the Belmont County inmate population can be viewed through public channels, while some details remain withheld. Ohio Revised Code 149.43 is the state public-records law. It requires public offices to make records available unless a specific exception applies. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 341 places the county jail and people confined there under the sheriff's charge, subject to minimum jail standards.
Key access rules: OAC 5120:1-7-02 classifies local confinement facilities, including full-service jails. OAC Chapter 5120:1-8 sets full-service jail standards. ORC 5120.10 is cited in the Belmont County Jail inspection framework.
Public access does not mean every internal jail field is published. Medical notes, housing classification, property records, sealed records, juvenile matters, and law-enforcement investigatory records may be limited. For booking records or photos not on the roster, the Belmont County Sheriff's Office public-records request form is the local fallback.
Search Belmont County Jail Roster
The official Belmont County jail lookup is the Belmont County Sheriff New Inmate Roster. It is a printable current report, not a database with search fields. The roster displays a run date and time, separates male and female sections, and shows one row block per inmate. Because there is no last-name form, the practical search method is browser find on the roster page. If a person is not listed, call the jail or use the records request process.
The official current roster report is the source for visible county custody rows. The image below shows the roster report format with booking photos, charges, court, disposition, bail, and release fields.
The report style is important: Belmont County does not provide a profile click-through or a separate search form in the inspected public roster.
- Open the sheriff roster and check the run date/time at the top.
- Use browser find for the last name, first name, arresting agency, court, or charge text.
- Read across the row block because one inmate can have several charges and bail entries.
- Check the subfields for SID number, book date, attorney, next court date, arresting agency, and release date.
- Call Belmont County Jail at 740-695-5124 if the person may be released, transferred, held under a variant name, or missing from the report.
Belmont County Inmate Record Fields
A Belmont County roster entry is compact but detailed. It includes public charge and custody data while omitting internal jail data. Date of birth, street address, height, weight, race, eye color, medical screening, property inventory, housing unit, and cell assignment were not visible in the public roster report inspected for the research file.
| Roster Field | What It Shows | Belmont County Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Jail ID | Numeric local jail identifier | Used instead of a field named booking number |
| Photo | Embedded booking image | Displayed in the roster row, not a separate gallery |
| Charges | Booking charge text | Multiple rows can appear for one person |
| Court | Court tied to each charge | May list divisional courts, Common Pleas, Juvenile, APA, or other court |
| Current disposition | Current charge or custody posture | Examples include Sentenced, Grand Jury, Hold For Other Agency, and Own Recognizance |
| Total bail | Bail shown for the charge row | A zero amount does not always mean release is available |
Belmont County Jail vs State Prison
Belmont County inmate population searches often fail when the wrong custody system is used. The county roster covers current local jail custody. ODRC Offender Search covers sentenced Ohio prisoners, released offenders, APA supervision, and violators at large. The ODRC county-of-commitment search can show people sentenced from Belmont County, but that does not prove they live in Belmont County or are housed at Belmont Correctional Institution.
| Question | Belmont County Jail | ODRC State Prison |
|---|---|---|
| Who is held | Pretrial detainees, local sentences, holds, state-transfer waits | Sentenced state prisoners and some supervision cases |
| Agency | Belmont County Sheriff's Office | Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction |
| Lookup tool | Sheriff current roster and jail phone | ODRC Offender Search |
| Local facility | Belmont County Jail | Belmont Correctional Institution and Camp |
State Federal and ICE Search
When the Belmont County roster does not show a person, the next step depends on the custody type. Use ODRC Offender Search for sentenced Ohio prisoners, released offenders, APA supervision, or parole violators. Use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator for federal inmates from 1982 to the present. Use ICE Online Detainee Locator for immigration custody by A-number or biographical search. Use Ohio VINELink for custody-status notification rather than as a complete roster replacement.
The Belmont Courts app can help with court records, payments, locations, alerts, and staff directory access, but it is not a jail roster app. The sheriff app described in older local news should not be treated as current because local reporting in 2025 said Sheriff James G. Zusack discontinued it.
Belmont County Detention Facilities
The Belmont County inmate population map contains one county jail and one state prison. They share a St. Clairsville area, but they serve different legal stages and use different lookup systems.
- Belmont County Jail holds current local jail detainees, local-sentence inmates, fugitives, revocation holds, and people awaiting state transfer.
- Belmont Correctional Institution and Camp holds sentenced adult male Ohio prisoners and uses ODRC Offender Search, not the county roster.
Past Belmont County Inmate Records
The sheriff roster is a current report. It does not state a public retention window for released inmates or provide a historical booking archive. For an older booking record, a booking photo that no longer appears online, an incident report, or a crash report, use the sheriff's public-records request process. The official request page says someone will contact the requester within three business days, and it lists return options such as email, paper copies, CD/DVD, USB drive, mail, or postage-paid envelope.
| Record Need | Best Channel | Belmont County Note |
|---|---|---|
| Current jail custody | Sheriff roster or jail phone | Call 740-695-5124 if the roster is unclear |
| Older booking record | Sheriff public-records request | Provide name, date, jail ID if known, and arresting agency |
| Court charges | CourtView and Clerk/Courts pages | Dockets from 1995 to present are referenced by the clerk |
| Sentenced prison custody | ODRC Offender Search | Search by name, status, number, or county of commitment |
Belmont County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Belmont County jail population? The official point-in-time ODRC inspection counted 95 inmates at the Belmont County Jail on August 27, 2025. The sheriff describes the jail as a 144-bed facility, and ODRC listed 144 recommended capacity.
Why is the state prison count much higher? Belmont Correctional Institution and Camp is a state prison located in Belmont County. Its 2,487-person count from February 12, 2026 reflects sentenced Ohio prisoners housed there, not the county jail roster.
How do I search current Belmont County inmates? Use the sheriff's current roster and browser find. The report does not provide a last-name search box or profile page, so the jail phone is the fallback.
Can released inmates be searched online? The roster does not publish a release-retention window or archive. Use the sheriff public-records request form for older jail records or booking photos.
Where are court charges found? The roster shows booking charge text and a court field. Formal court records after a jail arrest are searched through CourtView, the Clerk of Courts, and Belmont County Courts public-record pages.