The Cherokee County Inmate Population
The Cherokee County inmate population is housed at the Cherokee County Detention Center at 110 Cedar Bluff Road in Centre. The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office runs the jail, which holds adult male and female inmates for the county, its municipalities, the state, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Most people in the jail are pre-trial, which means they have been booked after an arrest but not yet tried. The detention center also holds people serving local sentences and people kept on outside holds.
The count is not fixed. It rises and falls with arrests, bond decisions, court schedules, and transfers. The sheriff's roster carries a live number that changes as people are booked and released. When a person is convicted and sentenced to state prison, that person leaves the county count and joins the statewide prison population, which the Alabama Department of Corrections tracks in a separate system.
Cherokee County Inmate Population Statistics
The sheriff's roster shows a live count rather than a fixed statistic. On May 27, 2026, the current roster listed 87 inmates and the 48-hour release list showed 6 people. These are point-in-time web counts, not a rated capacity or an average daily population. The county did not publish an official bed capacity in the sources reviewed, so that figure is not stated here.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Current roster count | 87 | Sheriff roster, May 27, 2026 (live) |
| 48-hour release count | 6 | Sheriff released roster, May 27, 2026 (live) |
| Official rated capacity | Not published | Sheriff detention page, 2026 |
| Alabama state inmates (total) | 27,601 | ADOC inmate search page, May 2026 |
| Cherokee County residents | 26,138 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, 2024 est. |
The state total is a statewide ADOC figure, not a Cherokee County jail count. The resident figure helps frame the scale of local arrests, but it is not a jail number.
Cherokee County Inmate Population Trends
Cherokee County publishes a live roster rather than a multi-year population series, so a year-by-year jail count cannot be shown without inventing figures. The roster does show short-term movement: an earlier inspection on May 26 listed 81 inmates, and a later one on May 27 listed 87. That swing of a few people in a day reflects how quickly the population changes as bookings and releases are entered.
| Date | Roster Count | Note |
|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2026 | 81 | Current roster, earlier inspection |
| May 27, 2026 | 87 | Current roster, later inspection |
| May 27, 2026 | 6 released | 48-hour release list, same day |
For a longer trend, the U.S. Census shows the county grew from 24,971 residents in 2020 to an estimated 26,138 in 2024, which frames the wider community rather than the jail itself.
Who Makes Up the Cherokee County Inmate Population
The public roster shows individual fields such as age, gender, race, arresting agency, and charges, but it does not publish aggregate breakdowns. A pre-trial versus sentenced split and a full male versus female share for the jail were not published, so those exact local shares are not listed here. The detention page does describe who is held in general terms.
- County and municipal arrestees are held for the county and its cities after arrest.
- State and federal holds include people held for the state and the U.S. Marshals Service.
- Adult men and women are both housed at the detention center.
- State prison demographics statewide skew heavily male: ADOC counted 25,007 men and 2,592 women in May 2026.
Cherokee County Jail Capacity and Overcrowding
The sheriff's detention page gives the facility's opening date, a renovation date, and a description of who is held, but it does not publish a rated bed capacity. Without an official capacity figure, an overcrowding comparison cannot be made. The live roster count of 87 on May 27, 2026 describes how many people were held that day, not how many beds exist.
For a firm capacity number, the sheriff's office is the only reliable source, and third-party bed figures are not used here because they were not corroborated by an official county budget, inspection, or jail report. A current count can be confirmed by phone.
Laws Governing the Cherokee County Inmate Population
Alabama law makes much of this information public and shapes how the sheriff keeps and releases jail records. The public-writing statute is the backbone, the copy-fee rule sets how records are provided, and the expungement and juvenile statutes explain why some records are restricted. Each statute below carries a short plain-English meaning.
Key Statutes:
Alabama Code § 36-12-40 - Gives Alabama citizens the right to inspect and copy public writings, including many jail records, unless a statute says otherwise.
Alabama Code § 36-12-41 - Requires a public officer who holds a public writing to provide a certified copy on demand and payment of the legal fee.
Alabama Code § 41-13-1 - Defines public records broadly as records made or received by public officers in public business.
Alabama Code § 12-15-133 - Keeps many juvenile court records confidential except for specific permitted access.
Eligibility to expunge certain charges is set by Alabama Code sections 15-27-2 and 15-27-3, and a court order can require agencies to forward booking or arrest photos to the state for sealing.
Cherokee County and the State Prison Population
When a person from Cherokee County is convicted and sentenced to state prison, that person leaves the county jail count and joins the statewide population held by the Alabama Department of Corrections. The ADOC inmate search page displayed 27,601 total inmates statewide in May 2026, with 25,007 men and 2,592 women. No state prison sits inside Cherokee County, so sentenced residents are housed at ADOC facilities in other counties.
This matters for any search. The county roster will not track a person after that person moves into state custody. From that point, the ADOC inmate search is the right tool. The state search covers current inmates only and excludes those sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act.
How to Search the Cherokee County Inmate Population
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office runs a free public jail roster with no login. The roster chooser offers two paths: a current-inmate list for people in custody now, and a 48-hour release list for people who left custody in the last two days. The current list defaults to newest bookings first.
Before you start, have the person's name ready, since the search field accepts a first or last name.
The sheriff also offers an official mobile app that links the same roster tools: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office app download page.
The app is one more way to reach the Cherokee County inmate population roster, but the web roster chooser remains the fullest searchable view of current jail custody.
- Open the roster chooser and pick the current-inmate list or the 48-hour release list, depending on whether the person may still be in custody.
- Use the Search By Name box, entering a last name first, and sort by Name or Date if the list is long.
- Open the View Profile link to see the booking number, charges, mugshot, and booking date.
- If the profile lacks current bond or case detail, call the detention center, since charges and bail amounts may change after court.
- If neither roster shows the person, check the state, federal, and court channels, or call the jail.
Current Inmate Lookup in Cherokee County
The live roster updates as bookings are entered, though the sheriff does not publish a formal refresh interval. The same-day booking timestamps on the homepage suggest the site adds new entries quickly. The table below shows the roster search and sort controls verified during inspection.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search By Name | Text | No | Accepts a first or last name; no posted minimum characters. |
| Current | Tab | No | Shows inmates currently in the detention center. |
| Released | Tab | No | Shows people released within the last 48 hours. |
| Name | Sort link | No | Sorts the roster alphabetically by name. |
| Date | Sort link | No | Sorts by booking or release date, newest or oldest first. |
| View Profile | Link | No | Opens the detailed inmate profile page. |
Past and Released Inmate Records
Cherokee County is unusual in publishing a 48-hour release list, which makes it easy to find someone who just left custody. Released entries add a release date to the summary card. After 48 hours, a person drops off that list, so an older record means a request to the sheriff. The sheriff's FAQ says incident and offense reports can be obtained at the Sheriff's Office during normal business hours, and sensitive details are best confirmed by phone.
For someone who was sentenced and sent to state prison, the county roster will not track them after transfer. The ADOC search shows current state inmates only and carries no historical data online, so an older state record may require a written records request to the state corrections department instead.
What a Cherokee County Inmate Record Shows
A roster profile in Cherokee County shows a clear set of fields. The inspected sample profile listed a mugshot, booking number, age, gender, race, address, arresting agency, booking date and time, and charges. It did not show a housing unit, court date, case number, or projected release date, and bond is not a separate field, so those should not be assumed online.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Mugshot | A front-facing booking photo on the profile, with a thumbnail on the summary card. |
| Booking Number | A numeric local booking identifier. |
| Booking Date | The date and time of booking into the detention center. |
| Charges | Plain-text charge lines, which may use abbreviations and can change after court. |
| Arresting Agency | The agency that made the arrest, such as a local police department. |
| Age, Gender, Race | Public descriptors shown for each inmate. |
After a transfer to state prison, the record changes shape. The ADOC search returns an AIS number, name, race, sex, current institution, and release date, which describe state custody rather than a county booking.
The formal charges behind a roster entry move into the court record through the circuit clerk's office: Cherokee County Circuit Clerk records page.
Use the circuit clerk's record divisions to follow the charges and case status that outlast a booking entry in the Cherokee County inmate population.
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
The split between the county jail and the state prison system decides which search to run. Pre-trial detainees and people on short sentences sit in the county jail under the sheriff. Sentenced felons move to a state prison run by the corrections department, which keeps its own locator. Using the wrong system is the most common reason a search fails.
| County Jail | State Prison (DOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pre-trial and short sentences | Sentenced felons |
| Run By | Cherokee County Sheriff | Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) |
| Where to Look | Sheriff jail roster | State inmate locator |
| Stays Listed | Current inmates, plus a 48-hour release list | Current inmates only; no online history |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Three separate locators cover the inmate population beyond the county jail. The ADOC inmate search finds sentenced Alabama state prisoners by AIS number or name. The Federal Bureau of Prisons locator covers federal inmates from 1982 to the present. The ICE Online Detainee Locator System covers adult immigration detainees and requires a nine-digit A-number or biographical details.
Each answers a different question. Because the detention center holds people for the U.S. Marshals Service, a federal pre-trial detainee may show on the county roster before appearing in the federal sentenced system. Victims can register for custody and release alerts through VINELink at 1-877-846-3425.
The federal locator shows the number and name search tabs used for federal custody: Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
Use this federal tool when a person from Cherokee County may be in federal sentenced custody, since it does not track the local jail inmate population shown on the county roster.
Cherokee County Detention Facilities
Cherokee County's detention map is straightforward. One local facility holds the county inmate population, and no state prison, federal, or immigration facility sits inside the county. Sentenced residents are housed elsewhere through the state and federal systems.
- Cherokee County Detention Center - The county jail in Centre, holding adult men and women for the county, its cities, the state, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Cherokee County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Cherokee County inmate population?
The sheriff's roster showed 87 inmates on May 27, 2026, a live count rather than a fixed statistic. The county did not publish an official rated capacity. For a current count, the detention center is the most reliable source, since the roster number changes as people are booked and released.
How do I search the Cherokee County inmate population?
Use the free public jail roster on the sheriff's website. The roster chooser offers a current-inmate list and a 48-hour release list. Search by a first or last name, open the profile for charges and the mugshot, and call the detention center for current bond or case detail.
Can I look up a released or past inmate?
The 48-hour release list shows people who left custody in the last two days, with a release date on each card. After 48 hours, a person drops off that list, so an older record means a request to the Sheriff's Office. A person sentenced to state prison appears in the ADOC search instead.
Where do sentenced inmates go after the county jail?
After conviction and sentencing to state prison, a person leaves county custody and moves to an Alabama Department of Corrections facility. No state prison sits in Cherokee County, so they are housed elsewhere. The county roster will not track their location after transfer.
Does the Cherokee County roster show mugshots?
Yes. The roster summary cards show a mugshot thumbnail, and the profile shows a front-facing booking photo while the entry is visible. A booking photo can be affected by a court expungement order, after which agencies must forward arrest photos to the state for sealing.
What does the 48-hour release list cover?
It shows everyone released from the detention center within the last 48 hours, with a release date on each summary card. It is the fastest way to confirm that a person who was in custody has since bonded out, been released by court order, or been transferred.