San Jose Jail Inmate Lookup

San Jose inmate population records fall under the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. The city of San Jose does not operate its own jail. When San Jose police arrest someone, that person goes into the county jail system run by the sheriff. Santa Clara County has two main jail facilities that hold inmates from San Jose and every other city in the county. You can search for inmates online through the county's free lookup tool. This page explains how to find someone in custody, what data you can access, and what other resources exist for San Jose inmate searches.

Santa Clara County Inmate Search

Santa Clara County runs the jail system that serves San Jose. The sheriff's office operates two main facilities. The Main Jail sits at 150 West Hedding Street in San Jose itself. The Elmwood Correctional Complex is in Milpitas, just north of San Jose. Together, these two facilities hold all the county's pretrial and sentenced inmates. Most people arrested in San Jose end up at the Main Jail first. The Elmwood facility handles medium-security inmates and has both male and female housing units.

The county provides an online inmate search tool. Go to the Santa Clara County Find an Inmate page. Enter the person's last name to start a search. You can add a first name or booking number to narrow results. The tool shows the inmate's name, date of birth, charges, bail, booking date, and which facility holds them. It covers all people currently in Santa Clara County custody. San Jose Police Department arrests show up here once the person transfers to county jail. That transfer usually takes less than a day.

Note: The county search only shows people currently in custody. Released inmates do not appear in the results.

San Jose City Jail Status

San Jose does not have a city jail. This is common in California. The San Jose Police Department handles arrests but does not hold people long-term. After booking at a police station, inmates transfer to Santa Clara County custody. The San Jose PD main station is at 201 West Mission Street. If you need to ask about a very recent arrest that has not hit the county system yet, call San Jose Police at (408) 277-8900. Officers can tell you if someone was recently picked up and where they were taken.

Other cities in Santa Clara County work the same way. Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, and Palo Alto all route their arrests through the county sheriff's jail. There is one system for the whole county. This makes searching for San Jose inmate population data straightforward. You only need to check one place.

California Statewide Inmate Tools

Two statewide tools help when local searches do not work. CIRIS is the California state prison search. If someone from San Jose was sentenced to state prison, they will appear in CIRIS but not in the county jail search. CIRIS shows the inmate's prison location, admission date, and parole info. It is free and anyone can use it. Search by last name or CDCR inmate number.

VINELink works across all 58 California counties. It lets you search for jail inmates statewide. If you think someone from San Jose was arrested in another county, VINE can find them. Call 1-877-411-5588 or search online. VINE also provides custody status alerts. Sign up and get a call, text, or email when an inmate's status changes. This works for San Jose inmates held in Santa Clara County and for anyone in any California county. The BSCC Jail Profile Survey shown below tracks monthly jail population data for Santa Clara County and all other California counties.

The BSCC Jail Profile Survey page lets you pull California jail population data including Santa Clara County stats.

Use the BSCC survey to see trends in Santa Clara County's jail population over time. Data goes back decades.

Inmate Record Access in San Jose

California law controls what inmate data you can and cannot access. Government Code 6254(f) makes booking records public. Names, charges, bail amounts, and arrest details are available for any San Jose inmate in county custody. The sheriff posts this online. You can also request it in writing or in person at the sheriff's office. No special permission is needed. Anyone can look up San Jose inmate population data through the public booking records.

Penal Code 11105 restricts criminal history records. These are the full rap sheets maintained by the California DOJ. You cannot get another person's criminal history. Only the individual, law enforcement, and certain authorized agencies have access. To check your own criminal record in San Jose, visit a Live Scan location and pay $25 to the DOJ. Several Live Scan sites operate in and around San Jose. The DOJ usually processes requests within a few days. If you find errors, Penal Code sections 11120 through 11127 explain how to challenge them.

Visiting and Contacting Inmates

Santa Clara County allows visits at both the Main Jail and Elmwood. Schedules vary by facility and housing unit. Check the sheriff's website for current hours. You need valid photo ID to visit. Video visits are available and can be scheduled online. In-person visits happen behind glass at most housing units. Some minimum-security areas at Elmwood allow contact visits.

Phone calls from Santa Clara County jail use a paid service. Rates are set by the contracted provider. State prison calls in California are free since January 2023, but county jail calls still cost money. You can deposit funds into an inmate's phone account online or at kiosks in facility lobbies. Mail goes to the jail where the person is held. Include the inmate's full legal name and booking number on all mail. Santa Clara County also accepts electronic messages through the jail's approved messaging platform. Commissary deposits for San Jose inmates can be made online through the sheriff's inmate services page.

Nearby City Inmate Records

Cities near San Jose share the Santa Clara County jail system or are in neighboring counties. Search their inmate records through the links below.

For full county jail details, see the Santa Clara County inmate population page.