Search Santa Rosa Inmate Records

Santa Rosa inmate population records are managed by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. Santa Rosa is the county seat and largest city in Sonoma County, with roughly 178,000 residents. The Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility sits right in Santa Rosa, so most local arrests end up there. The sheriff provides an online inmate search tool that covers everyone in county custody. You can search for free at any time. If you cannot get online, call (707) 565-1400 for inmate information by phone.

Sonoma County Sheriff Inmate Search

The Sonoma County Sheriff provides an inmate search tool at inmatesearch.sonomasheriff.org. It covers every person currently held in the county detention facility. Enter a last name and the system pulls up matching records. You see the person's booking date, charges, bail amount, and housing assignment. The tool works on phones and desktops. No account or login is needed.

Sonoma County operates the Main Adult Detention Facility at 2777 Ventura Avenue in Santa Rosa. This is the primary jail for the county. It has a rated capacity of about 762 beds. The North County Detention Facility in the same area provides additional space. Together, these facilities hold everyone arrested in Santa Rosa and the rest of Sonoma County. The jail population on any given day runs around 700 to 850 inmates depending on the time of year and booking volume.

If you search and find nothing, the person may have been released already. Sonoma County updates its online roster regularly. Records drop off when an inmate leaves custody.

Finding Someone in Santa Rosa Custody

The sheriff's online tool is the best first step. It covers all of Sonoma County. Santa Rosa arrests show up there within hours of booking. If the website is down or you prefer the phone, call (707) 565-1400. That line goes to the sheriff's office and staff can check inmate status for you. Have the person's full name ready. A date of birth helps too since common names may return several results.

VINELink provides a statewide backup. Search any California county through VINE. Pick Sonoma County and enter the person's name. VINE shows custody status and lets you sign up for alerts. When someone booked in Santa Rosa gets released or transferred, VINE sends you a notification. Call 1-877-411-5588 for VINE by phone. The service is free for everyone.

For state prison searches, use CIRIS. Once a Santa Rosa case leads to a state prison sentence, the person leaves the Sonoma County jail and enters the state system. CIRIS from CDCR tracks all California state prison inmates. It shows which prison they are at, when they were admitted, and their next parole hearing date. The Sonoma County jail search only covers local custody, not state prison.

Santa Rosa Police Department

The Santa Rosa Police Department handles law enforcement in the city. Officers work from 965 Sonoma Avenue. When Santa Rosa police arrest someone, the person goes to the Sonoma County jail for booking. The police department does not operate its own jail. For arrest reports and case documents, contact the Santa Rosa Police Records Section at (707) 543-3626. They handle report copies and can provide details on specific cases that happened in the city limits.

Santa Rosa police also work with the Sonoma County Violent Crime Suppression Unit on gang and drug cases. Arrests from these joint operations still go through the county jail. The BSCC Jail Profile Survey provides monthly data on how many people the Sonoma County jail system holds. You can view trends going back years and see how Santa Rosa area bookings affect the overall county population numbers.

Note: Santa Rosa is the only city in Sonoma County with a population over 100,000. All other cities in the county are significantly smaller.

Legal Rules for Inmate Records

California law makes jail booking data public. Under Government Code 6254(f), the Sonoma County Sheriff must share arrest and booking information with anyone who asks. This is why the inmate search tool exists online. Names, charges, bail, and booking dates for people arrested in Santa Rosa are all available. You do not need to explain why you want the information.

Full criminal histories are a different story. Penal Code 11105 restricts who can access complete criminal background files in California. The Department of Justice manages those records. To check your own criminal history, submit fingerprints at a Live Scan provider in the Santa Rosa area and pay $25. The DOJ processes it in a few days. Several Live Scan sites operate around Sonoma County. This is not the same as the jail inmate search. The DOJ records show a person's full criminal history across California, while the sheriff's tool only shows who is currently in jail.

If you believe a record has errors, the DOJ has a process for challenging inaccuracies under Penal Code sections 11120 through 11127.

The screenshot above shows the Sonoma County Sheriff inmate search page. Use this tool to find people arrested in Santa Rosa and held in county detention.

Nearby Cities

Major California cities near the Sonoma County area with their own inmate population pages.

Sonoma County Inmate Records

Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County. Visit the county page for complete details on the jail system and all Sonoma County facilities.