Beaufort County Inmate Population Overview
The Beaufort County inmate population is centered at the Beaufort County Detention Center, the only local detention facility identified in the county, SCDC, BOP, and ICE source sweep. The county publishes the detention center as the place for people admitted by criminal-justice agencies in Beaufort County. That includes many pretrial defendants, people serving local sentences ordered by a court, municipal and magistrate defendants, and holds accepted from other agencies when those holds appear in the jail record.
Population counts change with arrests, bond decisions, first appearances, releases, transfers, and sentencing. A person booked by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, Beaufort Police Department, Bluffton Police Department, Port Royal Police Department, South Carolina Highway Patrol, or another listed agency may first appear in the county XML roster. If the person is later sentenced to state prison, the search moves to the South Carolina Department of Corrections inmate search. Federal and immigration custody use separate locators and do not replace the county roster for local jail custody.
Beaufort County Inmate Statistics
The county's 2024 detention statistics are unusually detailed. The official statistics page gives capacity, average population, bookings, classifications, visitors, meals, budget, daily cost, and revenue from commissary and inmate telephone activity. These figures describe calendar-year operations at the county detention center. Live XML roster counts are different because they are a point-in-time count of records in a feed, not an audited annual average.
| Measure | Figure | Source and Date |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily population | 189 | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
| Rated capacity | 255 total | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
| Annual inmates booked | 3,467 | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
| Annual inmates classified | 1,405 | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
| Average length of stay | 6 days | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
| Visitors | 8,545 | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
| Meals served | 197,522 | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
| Daily cost per inmate | $179.65 | Beaufort County Detention Center statistics, 2024 |
The county statistics page also lists an FY2025 detention budget of $7,073,880, with $4,818,300 for personnel services and $2,255,580 for operations. Capital outlay was listed as $0. The same source reports $127,637.87 in commissary and inmate telephone profit. Those budget figures help explain that the Beaufort County inmate population is not only a custody count. It also drives staffing, food service, medical care, visitation, phone access, mail screening, and program costs.
The screenshot below comes from the county's 2024 detention statistics page, the local source for the population and capacity figures used here.
The statistics page is the better source for annual population claims; the roster feeds are better for live custody and recent booking checks.
Beaufort County Inmate Makeup
The county's 2024 report separates the Beaufort County inmate population by demographic group and judicial status. The status split is especially important for searchers. Most people in the local jail count were pretrial, which means they had not been convicted of the listed charge at the time they were counted. A smaller share was serving a sentence locally, and another group was listed as other status. That is why a jail roster charge should be read as a custody and booking entry, not as a conviction.
| Judicial Status | Percent of 2024 ADP |
|---|---|
| Pretrial | 83.36% |
| Sentenced | 3.76% |
| Other | 12.89% |
Demographic fields in the 2024 statistics include Black male, White male, Hispanic male, Asian male, Other male, and the same groups for female inmates. Roster entries also show race and sex fields on individual records. Those entries are booking-system data. They may be abbreviated, coded, or incomplete, so the countywide statistics are the cleaner source for population makeup, while individual roster records are the source for a single person's custody entry.
Beaufort County Jail Capacity
Beaufort County reports a rated capacity of 255 and a 2024 average daily population of 189. That annual average is about 74 percent of rated capacity. A live count can look different. The current roster feed inspected June 29, 2026 showed 301 records at feed time 10:32:01, but that count should be labeled as roster records counted, not as an official average daily population. A roster feed can include timing, duplicate event, or data-entry details that do not match an annual capacity measure.
| Year or Date | ADP or Count | Use With This Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 189 ADP | Official annual detention center statistic |
| 2024 | 255 capacity | Official rated bed capacity |
| June 29, 2026 | 301 current roster records | Point-in-time XML feed count, not annual ADP |
Recent news adds context but should not replace the county numbers. Research noted October 2024 reporting that Jasper County jail fire transfers temporarily pushed Beaufort's count near capacity. County council materials in 2025 mentioned pending detention-center litigation, and 2026 committee materials moved forward an on-site correctional health-care contract. Those items show operational pressure around the jail, but the published 2024 statistics remain the controlling local data for population, capacity, and costs.
Beaufort County Jail Record Laws
South Carolina law shapes what the public can inspect, what may be withheld, and how a person asks for records that are not online. The county's free roster feeds are the first source for current inmates and recent booking records. If the roster does not answer the question, Beaufort County directs public-record requests to its FOIA process. Court records after arrest are checked through the South Carolina Judicial Branch Public Index and the Beaufort court rosters.
Key Statutes:
South Carolina FOIA, Title 30, Chapter 4 governs access to records held by public bodies, including county detention records unless an exemption applies.
S.C. Code Section 30-4-30 covers inspection, copying, response rules, and fees, and Beaufort County cites it in its FOIA cost schedule.
S.C. Code Title 24, Chapter 5 covers local detention and jail custody duties in South Carolina.
S.C. Code Title 63, Chapter 19 is relevant because juvenile records are treated differently from adult jail roster records.
Protected details can still be withheld or redacted. Juvenile information, victim information, active investigation material, medical data, and other exempt content may not appear in the same way as an adult booking record. The Beaufort County inmate population pages should therefore separate public roster information from records that require a FOIA request, a court clerk request, or verification by the originating office.
Search the Beaufort County Inmate Population
The official inmate search path starts on the county Inmate Inquiry System page. Beaufort County does not use a conventional search-box database for its public jail roster. It links five XML feeds: current population by last name, current population by booking date, inmates booked within 72 hours, inmates released within 15 days, and inmates booked within 90 days. The practical search method is to open the right feed and use browser find for a name, booking number, name number, charge word, court, or date.
The county's inquiry page lists the official roster feeds shown below.
Because the feeds are raw public reports, they are transparent but not polished. The XML field names make it possible to see exactly which booking data is being published.
- Open the county inmate inquiry page.
- Choose current custody by last name or booking date, or choose a recent booking or release feed.
- Use browser find for the last name, first name, booking number, name number, charge text, court, or agency.
- Read each charge line, bond amount, court value, and custody status before assuming release is possible.
- Use SCDC, BOP, ICE, VINE, or FOIA if the county roster does not cover the custody stage.
Beaufort County Roster Fields
The roster channel table is link-based rather than form-based. None of the county feeds requires login or payment. The feeds inspected on June 29, 2026 included generation times around 10:32 a.m., but the county did not publish a fixed refresh interval. That matters for very new arrests. The 72-hour booking feed may catch a recent booking before a reader finds it in the current last-name feed, and the release feed may explain why a person has dropped out of current custody.
| Roster Feed or Tool | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Population by Last Name | XML feed | No | All current confined records sorted by last name. |
| Current Population by Booking Date | XML feed | No | Same current custody set, sorted by booking date. |
| Booked Within 72 Hours | XML feed | No | Recent bookings; inspected count was 48 records. |
| Released Within 15 Days | XML feed | No | Recent releases; inspected count was 189 records. |
| Booked Within 90 Days | XML feed | No | Larger booking-history feed; inspected count was 1,204 records. |
| Browser Find | Browser function | Optional | Search by name, booking number, date, charge, agency, or court text. |
Beaufort County Inmate Records
A Beaufort County inmate record can include name, address as captured at booking, race and sex display, date of birth, age, height, weight, booking date, booking number, name number, intake time, release time or confined status, VINE link, booking photo, arresting agency, arresting officer, statute or hold code, warrant or case number, charge text, bond amount, and court. Some fields can be blank or coded. A bond value of 0.00 may mean no listed bond, a hold, or an unposted amount. It should not be read alone.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Booking number and name number | Event and person identifiers used by the jail feed and VINE link. |
| Booking date and intake time | When the person entered the county booking system. |
| Release or confined status | Whether the person has a release date/time or remains listed as confined. |
| Charge and statute fields | Offense labels, hold labels, statute codes, warrant numbers, ticket numbers, or case numbers. |
| Bond and court | Bond amount per line and the court named by the jail record, if posted. |
| Booking photo | The public JPEG image in the image1 field when the roster publishes it. |
County Jail vs State Prison
The Beaufort County inmate population search changes when custody changes. The county roster is strongest for pretrial defendants, local sentenced inmates, new bookings, recent releases, and holds at the detention center. SCDC is the right source after a person is sentenced to state prison and transferred. BOP covers sentenced federal prisoners, while ICE ODLS covers immigration custody. VINE is a notification system, not a full roster substitute.
| Custody Stage | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| County pretrial or local sentence | Beaufort County roster feeds | Current custody, recent bookings, recent releases, charge lines, bond, court, mugshot. |
| State prison sentence | SCDC inmate search | Sentenced South Carolina prison custody after transfer from county jail. |
| Federal sentence | BOP inmate locator | Federal sentenced custody from 1982 to present. |
| Immigration custody | ICE detainee locator | Immigration detention. An ICE Hold line on the county roster is not the same as an ICE profile. |
| Notification | South Carolina VINE | Custody-status notification for registered users and victims. |
Beaufort County Detention Facility
The facility map resolves to one local detention facility: Beaufort County Detention Center. The official county address is 100 Ribaut Rd, Beaufort, SC 29902, and the county phone listing gives the detention center number as (843) 255-5200. The current facility opened in 1992 as a direct-supervision jail. County material says it was the second operation of that kind in South Carolina. Direct supervision means a correctional officer is posted inside each general population housing unit to supervise behavior and prevent assaults or property damage.
Beaufort County Detention Center
100 Ribaut Rd
Beaufort, SC 29902
(843) 255-5200
Public counter hours were not posted; call before travel.
Booking, Bond, and Court Records
After arrest, intake creates the booking number and name number, captures the booking photo, records physical descriptors, stores property, enters the arresting agency and charges, and routes the person through classification. Beaufort County's rules page says inmates charged with a crime should normally see a judge within 24 hours. At first appearance, the judicial officer advises rights, sets bond, and starts appointed-counsel paperwork. Victim-notification attempts can affect timing.
Court records after arrest are separate from the jail roster. The jail record is a bridge to the court case because it may show General Sessions Court, Beaufort County Magistrate, Bluffton Magistrate Court, Beaufort City Municipal Court, Port Royal Municipal Court, or a blank court value. The formal case is searched through the Beaufort County Public Index and court rosters. Booking photos are covered in more detail on the Beaufort County jail mugshots page.
Note: A roster charge is an accusation or hold line, not proof that the person was convicted in court.
Beaufort County FOIA and VINE
When the roster does not provide the needed record, Beaufort County uses JustFOIA for public-record requests. The county FOIA page lists an online portal, a mail option, a FOIA Specialist phone number, and fees. Requests received after 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday are treated as received the next work day. Records are provided digitally unless otherwise requested, with small files emailed and larger files made available through secure download.
The county VINE page links to South Carolina SAVIN/VINELink and gives the notification number 1-866-727-2846. VINE can help with custody notification, but it does not replace the roster or court index. No official Beaufort County Sheriff app-only inmate lookup or warrant lookup was located in the official sources checked, so the documented channels remain the county feeds, detention phone line, FOIA, VINE, SCDC, BOP, and ICE.
Beaufort County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Beaufort County inmate population? The official 2024 average daily population was 189 against a rated capacity of 255. A live XML feed count on June 29, 2026 showed 301 current roster records, but that is a point-in-time feed count rather than an annual ADP.
How is the Beaufort County inmate population searched? Open the county inmate inquiry page, choose one of the five XML feeds, and use browser find for a name, booking number, charge, agency, court, or date. Use SCDC, BOP, or ICE when the custody stage is no longer local jail custody.
Can released inmates be found? The county publishes a 15-day release feed and a 90-day booking feed. Older or missing booking records may require a Beaufort County FOIA request through JustFOIA or by mail.
Are mugshots included? The official roster feeds inspected included booking photo URLs in current custody, 72-hour bookings, 15-day releases, and 90-day bookings. The county did not publish a permanent online retention period.
Who runs the jail? The detention center content is published under Beaufort County Government's Detention Center department. Beaufort County Sheriff's Office provides broader law-enforcement context, and Sheriff P.J. Tanner is the elected sheriff.