The Lawrence County Jail Roster
The Lawrence County inmate roster is hosted on the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department website and linked from the county government's Sheriff and Jail page as "Lawrence County Jail Inmates." It carries the heading "Inmates Currently in Custody," which tells you exactly what it is: a live list of people in the jail at that moment. The sheriff rebuilds the page rather than running a searchable database, and the page stamps its own last-update time from the file's date. There is no fee, no account, and no login.
Just as important is what the roster does not cover. It does not list people who have been sentenced to state prison, anyone in federal custody, or immigration detainees. A name that is missing from the county roster has often not been freed; the person may have moved into the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections or another agency. For those cases, the state and federal locators described below are the right tools.
How to Use the Lawrence County Inmate Roster
Because the roster is a single static page, the search happens in your browser. Have the person's last name ready and a rough booking date in mind, since spelling has to be exact and there is no partial-name feature.
- Open the Lawrence County current inmates page from the sheriff's site or the county quick link.
- Check that the heading reads "Inmates Currently in Custody" so you know you are on the live roster.
- Use your browser find tool, then type the last name to jump to the matching card.
- Read the entry for the booking photo, charges, bond, intake date, and arresting agency.
- If there is no match, call the corrections staff or move to the state or federal locator.
The roster page below shows how each detainee appears, with an inline mugshot and a small charge and bond table.
The official page is the Lawrence County Sheriff's current custody roster, which the county links as its inmate list.
Treat the list as a near-current snapshot rather than a live database feed, since a new booking can take a little time to appear and a release can linger briefly before the page is updated.
Why the Lawrence County Roster Has No Search Box
Many county jail rosters are search forms with name and booking-number fields. Lawrence County's is not. The current inmates page has no official search input at all, so the table below describes how the page actually works rather than a set of fields you fill in. Knowing this saves time, because there is no point hunting for a search button that does not exist.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search box | None | N/A | No official search input; use the browser find tool to locate a name on the page. |
| Last update | Page timestamp | N/A | Drawn from the file's last-modified date, not something you enter. |
| Inmate entries | Static list | N/A | All current detainees appear as cards on one page; scroll or search by name. |
Because spelling has to match, try a shorter or alternate spelling of a last name if the first try fails. When the name still does not appear, the phone line is the reliable backstop.
What a Lawrence County Inmate Record Shows
Each roster card is compact and focused on the booking. It confirms who is held and why, but it leaves out the deeper detail that a records request would cover. The inventory below lists the fields that actually appear on a Lawrence County entry and what each one means.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Booking Photo | An inline mugshot for each current detainee, taken at intake. |
| Name and Age | The full name in last-name-first form, with the person's age. |
| Race / Sex | A combined code such as W/M or W/F. |
| Intake Date | The date and time the person was booked into the jail. |
| City and Arresting Agency | A city field and the department that made the arrest. |
| Charges and Bond | The booking charges with a bond value listed beside each charge. |
| Release Date | A field that stays blank while the person is in custody. |
Several fields are not on the public roster at all: full date of birth, street address, booking number, housing unit, court dates, and any hold or detainer. A detainer is another agency's hold that can keep a person in custody even after the local charge is resolved, and the roster does not show it, so call before assuming someone is releasable.
Charges and Bond on a Lawrence County Booking
The charges on a roster card are booking charges entered at intake. They are what the arresting officer brought the person in on, and they are not the same as the charges a prosecutor later files in court. A bond value sits beside each charge, though many entries show a value of zero. Under Illinois bail reform, new cases are decided through a release or detention hearing rather than a routine cash amount, so a zero does not always mean free release.
If you need the charges that will actually move a case forward, those live in the court file, not the jail roster. The path from a booking to the filed charges is covered on the court records after a jail arrest page. For the booking photo itself and how long it stays online, see the Lawrence County jail mugshots page.
When the Roster Does Not Find Someone
A missing name is common, and there is a clear order of fallbacks. The roster only shows current detainees, so work down this list depending on where the person likely is.
- Call the jail - reach the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department corrections staff at (618) 943-1693 to confirm a current booking.
- File a records request - for an older booking record or mugshot, send a written Illinois FOIA request to the sheriff at the jail address.
- Check the court file - if the person is in court rather than jail, the circuit clerk's Judici records show case dates and balances.
- Use the state locator - for a sentenced prisoner, search the Illinois DOC inmate database.
- Use the federal locators - for federal or immigration custody, check the BOP or ICE systems.
- Set up notifications - register with VINELink to be told when a custody status changes.
Note: The sheriff does not publish jail lobby hours, so call the corrections line before traveling to the jail for in-person custody questions.
Finding County, State, and Federal Inmates
Matching the person to the right system is the whole game. The county roster covers pre-trial detainees and short county sentences. Sentenced felons move to the Illinois Department of Corrections and appear in its locator. Federal prisoners use the Bureau of Prisons locator, and immigration detainees use the ICE system. The table lines them up.
| Custody | Where to Look |
|---|---|
| Pre-trial or short sentence | Lawrence County jail roster |
| Sentenced felon | Illinois Department of Corrections locator |
| Federal prisoner | Federal Bureau of Prisons locator |
| Immigration hold | ICE detainee locator |
Federal pre-trial custody in this area runs through the U.S. Marshals Service for the Southern District of Illinois rather than any county system, so that is the office to contact for a recent federal arrest that has not yet reached a Bureau of Prisons facility.
Lawrence County Detention Facilities
Two facilities hold the people you might be searching for, and they answer different questions. The county jail is the local custody point, while Lawrence Correctional Center is a state prison for sentenced men. Their contact cards are below, and each has a full page on this site.
Lawrence County Jail
1306 Lexington Ave
Lawrenceville, IL 62439
(618) 943-1693
Visits Saturday and Sunday after 72 hours in custody
Lawrence Correctional Center
10940 Lawrence Road
Sumner, IL 62466
(618) 936-2064
State prison visits require advance sign-up
Visitation Hours and Rules
Visits at the Lawrence County Jail open only after a detainee has been in custody 72 hours, and the sheriff treats visitation as a privilege that can be pulled for any rule breach. Each person gets two 20-minute visits a week, up to three adults per visit, and anyone under 18 must come with an adult. Every visit has to be arranged the day before, with no exceptions, and there are no contact visits.
| Day | Hours | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 9:00-10:30 a.m.; 1:00-2:30 p.m.; 6:00-7:30 p.m. | In-person, no contact |
| Sunday | 9:00-10:30 a.m.; 1:00-2:30 p.m.; 6:00-7:30 p.m. | In-person, no contact |
| Monday-Friday | No scheduled visits | Arrange weekend visits the day before |
Adult visitors need a valid state-issued ID, and proper attire is required. Cell phones, jackets, purses, and photographs are not allowed in the visitation area, and visits are monitored and may be recorded.
How to Contact a Lawrence County Inmate
Mail and phone calls follow strict jail rules. Letters go to the detainee's name at 1306 Lexington Ave, Lawrenceville, IL 62439, and all mail is inspected for contraband. The jail does not accept packages, stamps, or photographs by mail, and envelopes must be clear of drawings, extra writing, lipstick, or perfume. Detainees buy writing materials and stamps from commissary rather than receiving them in the mail.
For phone calls, detainees can use phones from their cells between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The jail hands out a card good for a two-minute call after booking, and any call after that must be paid for by the detainee or the person they reach. Messages are not passed along to detainees for any reason, so plan to connect during phone hours.
Commissary, Phone Cards, and Bond
Commissary is where a detainee buys phone time and basic supplies. Additional phone cards run $10 for 20 minutes and $20 for 40 minutes. On the bond side, once a court sets bond the sheriff's corrections department will accept payment day or night by cash, certified check payable to the circuit clerk, or major credit or debit card. Exact cash is required because the jail cannot make change, and personal checks are not accepted.
Note: Call the jail at (618) 943-1693 to confirm custody and any holds before you send money, post bond, or drive in for a visit.
The Sheriff App and Other Channels
The Lawrence County Sheriff's Department also runs a free mobile app, and the county sheriff page promotes it directly. It is built for two-way contact with residents rather than custody lookups. The app store listings describe reporting crimes, submitting tips, interactive features, and public safety news, and the app-store text does not advertise an inmate roster, a warrant search, or a most-wanted list. So it is a public-safety and news tool, not an app-only way to look up an inmate, and it should be treated that way.
The app is offered for both phones, through the Apple App Store and Google Play. For a person who wants to be told when a custody status changes rather than checking the roster each day, VINELink is the statewide notification service, and it works alongside the county roster and the state locator rather than replacing either one.