Alpine County Jail Population

Alpine County handles its inmate population differently from most California counties because it does not operate its own jail. With fewer than 1,200 residents, Alpine is the least populated county in California. The sheriff's office contracts with neighboring El Dorado County and Calaveras County to house inmates. Anyone arrested in Alpine County gets transported to one of these two facilities. That means searching for Alpine County inmates requires checking those neighboring jails instead. The Alpine County Sheriff's Office at (530) 694-2231 can tell you where a specific person is being held and which system to search.

Alpine County Has No Jail

Alpine County is one of a few California counties without its own jail facility. The county seat is Markleeville, a small mountain town in the Sierra Nevada. Running a full jail for such a small population does not make financial sense. The county tried to maintain a small holding facility years ago, but the cost per inmate was too high. Now Alpine County contracts with two nearby counties for all jail services.

El Dorado County Jail in Placerville handles most Alpine County inmates. It sits about 60 miles west of Markleeville. Calaveras County Jail in San Andreas is the other option, roughly 70 miles to the southwest. The Alpine County Sheriff decides where each inmate goes based on available space and the nature of the charges. Transport from Alpine County can take a while given the mountain roads, especially in winter when passes close. Serious cases sometimes go straight to El Dorado because it has more medical services on site.

This setup means Alpine County inmate population data does not live in a single system. You need to check both El Dorado County and Calaveras County search tools to find someone arrested in Alpine. The sheriff's office can point you to the right place if you call first.

Searching for Alpine County Inmates

Since Alpine County has no jail, your best starting point is the phone. Call (530) 694-2231 and ask the sheriff's office where the person is being held. They keep track of all Alpine County arrests even though the inmates sit in other county jails. Staff can tell you the booking number, the holding facility, and the charges.

Once you know which county is holding the inmate, search that county's system. El Dorado County uses Citizen RIMS for inmate lookups. Go to their online roster and search by name. Calaveras County also uses Citizen RIMS. Both systems list current inmates with their charges, booking dates, and bail amounts. The inmate will show up under the holding county's roster, not Alpine County's. This trips people up sometimes. Someone arrested in Alpine County shows on El Dorado County's inmate list, not an Alpine list. That is just how the contract works.

VINELink works across all California counties. You can search it even if you do not know which jail holds the person. VINE checks every county at once. Call 1-877-411-5588 or go online. If an Alpine County inmate is in El Dorado or Calaveras custody, VINE should find them. You can also set up alerts. VINE sends you a message when the person's status changes.

Note: Alpine County inmates appear in the holding county's records, not in an Alpine-specific inmate search system.

State Tools for Alpine County

CDCR's CIRIS inmate locator helps if the person you want to find went to state prison after being convicted in Alpine County. CIRIS covers all California state prisons. Enter a name and it shows whether that person is in CDCR custody. Alpine County falls under the El Dorado County Superior Court for most criminal cases. Convictions that result in state prison time get processed through the same system as any other California county.

The BSCC Jail Profile Survey tracks jail population data for every California county. For Alpine County, the numbers are usually zero or very low since the county has no jail. The BSCC data instead reflects Alpine County inmates within the El Dorado or Calaveras totals. This can make Alpine County inmate population trends hard to track through official statistics. The sheriff's annual report sometimes breaks out Alpine-specific arrest numbers, but those are not always published online.

Public Records Access in Alpine County

California's public records rules apply in Alpine County the same way they do everywhere else in the state. Government Code 6254(f) makes booking information public. When someone gets arrested in Alpine County, the booking data is a public record. Names, charges, and bail amounts can be shared with anyone who asks. The fact that Alpine County houses inmates in other counties does not change this. The arrest record belongs to Alpine County even if the person sits in El Dorado County Jail.

Criminal history records remain restricted under Penal Code 11105. The California DOJ controls these files. You can not get a person's full criminal background from the Alpine County Sheriff or any other county office in California. Only authorized agencies and the person themselves have access. To check your own record, use a Live Scan location. The nearest ones to Alpine County are in the Carson City, Nevada area or down in Placerville.

For questions about Alpine County inmate records, the sheriff is your single point of contact. The office handles all record requests, even for inmates held at other facilities. Mail goes to Alpine County Sheriff's Office, 75B Diamond Valley Road, Markleeville, CA 96120.

Alpine County Inmate Search Tools

Since Alpine County does not have its own jail or online inmate roster, the statewide CIRIS search at CDCR's inmate locator is one of the best starting tools for people who may have moved to state custody.

CIRIS covers all state prison inmates in California. For Alpine County jail inmates specifically, you will need to search El Dorado County or Calaveras County rosters, or call the Alpine County Sheriff's Office at (530) 694-2231 for direct help finding the person you are looking for.

Nearby Counties

Alpine County borders several other California counties in the Sierra Nevada region. El Dorado and Calaveras are the two counties that house Alpine inmates. The others listed below also have their own jail search tools.