Benton County Inmate Population Overview
The Benton County inmate population is centered on the Benton County Jail in Foley. Official county and Minnesota DOC sources did not identify a separate county work-release building, municipal jail, regional jail, federal prison, or ICE detention facility inside Benton County. City police agencies may make arrests, and state or federal agencies may lodge holds, but local adult jail custody routes through the sheriff's jail unless a court order or another agency changes the custody path.
That split matters for search. The Benton County Jail roster covers people in local custody, including pretrial detainees, short local sentences, court transports, and boarded prisoners accepted for other criminal justice agencies. A person sentenced to prison moves into the Minnesota Department of Corrections locator after commitment. Federal sentenced prisoners use the BOP inmate locator, while immigration detainees use ICE ODLS. Each system counts a different part of custody.
Benton County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest current population sources are the Benton County Sheriff's Office annual reports and the Minnesota DOC jail inspection. The 2025 sheriff annual report reported an average daily jail population of 39.28 inmates and 1,468 bookings. The 2026 Minnesota DOC inspection report listed 102 approved secure coed beds, with an operational capacity of 96.90 at 95 percent operating capacity.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily population | 39.28 inmates | Benton County Sheriff's Office 2025 Annual Report |
| Approved capacity | 102 secure coed beds | MN DOC inspection, inspected April 23, 2026 |
| Operational capacity | 96.90 at 95 percent capacity | MN DOC 2026 inspection |
| Annual bookings | 1,468 bookings | 2025 Annual Report |
| Average length of stay | 17.7 days | 2025 Annual Report |
Benton County Jail Population Trends
Benton County's recent jail population trend is steady rather than crowded. The 2025 annual report said the average daily population rose by 2.8 inmates from the prior year, while bookings fell by 58. The report described crime rate, incident reports, arrest warrants received, civil-process requests, and jail average daily population as showing no statistically significant change from 2024.
Using the sourced 2025 average daily population against the DOC-approved capacity, the jail's average use was about 38.5 percent of approved beds. Against the 96.90 operational capacity figure, it was about 40.5 percent. Those are calculations from official figures, not a separate county-published metric.
| Year | Population Measure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 36.48 ADP | Reported in 2024 annual-report search snippet and used as the prior-year baseline in 2025 report context. |
| 2025 | 39.28 ADP | Increase of 2.8 from 2024, with 1,468 bookings. |
| 2026 | 102 approved beds | DOC inspection gives capacity and license status, not a current daily headcount. |
Benton County Inmate Makeup
The county source set gives a sex breakdown of annual bookings, not a full demographic table for the daily Benton County inmate population. The 2025 report listed 1,099 male bookings and 367 female bookings. The same report stated 1,468 total bookings, so the sex lines do not account for two bookings or reflect a reporting variance. No official race, age-band, pretrial-versus-sentenced, or felony-versus-misdemeanor daily population table was located in the official research file.
- Local custody: Benton County Jail holds adult pretrial detainees, local sentenced inmates, court transports, and accepted boarders.
- Sentenced prison custody: adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections are searched through MN DOC, not the county roster.
- Federal custody: BOP records cover federal sentenced prisoners from 1982 to present.
- Immigration custody: ICE ODLS is separate and no official ICE detention facility was found in Benton County.
Benton County Jail Capacity
The Benton County Jail is licensed as a local adult detention jail under Minnesota standards. The 2026 DOC inspection reported 126 mandatory requirements, 124 applicable, 2 noncompliance findings, and a 98.41 percent compliance rating. The authority-to-operate period runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. No official closure order, capacity litigation, consent decree, or jail construction project specific to Benton County Jail was found in the official source set reviewed.
The 2025 annual report still flags jail conditions that do not show up in a bed-count table. Sheriff Troy Heck described mental illness in jail as a statewide and local safety concern, with jail staff managing people whose needs exceed what a county jail was designed to treat. The same report said jail volunteers performed 1,214 hours of work in 2025 and that the jail collected just over $62,000 in prisoner boarding revenue.
Benton County Jail Records Laws
Minnesota public-data law is the backbone for Benton County inmate population records. Benton County directs requesters to its Data Practices Requests process, and the county policy names Sheriff Troy Heck as the responsible authority for sheriff and jail data. A requester may ask to inspect data, receive copies, or both. The county policy says inspection of public data is free, and black-and-white copies or computer printouts are 25 cents per page unless another fee schedule applies.
Key statutes and rules:
Minnesota Statutes section 13.03 makes government data public unless a law classifies it otherwise.
Minnesota Statutes section 13.82 makes core law-enforcement arrest data public at the originating agency and addresses booking photographs.
Minnesota Statutes section 641.05 requires the sheriff to keep a permanent jail record for people committed to the jail.
Minnesota Statutes section 241.021 authorizes correctional facility licensing, inspections, and correctional death-review duties.
Minnesota Rules chapter 2911 sets local adult detention standards for admissions, records, health, welfare, staffing, security, and sanitation.
Benton County Prison Transfers
A sentenced felony case from Benton County may leave the county jail count and enter the state prison or supervision population. The Minnesota Department of Corrections runs that system. The MN DOC locator searches adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections and still under DOC jurisdiction, including people in prison and people released from prison but still under supervision. Newly sentenced people may take several business days to appear.
No Minnesota DOC prison was mapped inside Benton County. The nearby MCF-St. Cloud facility is relevant because it is the DOC admitting facility for adult men in Minnesota, but it is not a Benton County detention facility. Its records belong to the state DOC system rather than the Benton County Jail roster.
Search Benton County Inmates
The fastest current-custody search is the Benton County Corrections Records Search linked from the sheriff's official page. The Tyler-hosted roster is treated as an official access channel because the county sheriff links to it. It is best for recent and current Benton County Jail custody, not for state prison, BOP, or ICE custody.
The county does not publish a precise roster refresh interval or a release-retention period in the sources reviewed. If a person does not appear, use the fallback chain instead of assuming no arrest occurred.
- Open the sheriff's inmate search link or the Tyler Corrections Records Search URL directly.
- Leave the minimum arrest date blank for the broadest current or recent list.
- Use name search or filtering when the visible roster is long.
- Sort by recent arrest date to check new bookings first.
- Review the name, ID, arrest time, age, arresting agency, and mugshot column before relying on a match.
- If the person is not listed, check the jail phone line, data-practices request path, MCRO, MN DOC, BOP, ICE, or VINE as the facts require.
Benton County Roster Lookup
The Benton County roster interface shows enough fields to confirm a likely match before a user opens or requests more detail. Public snippets and visible labels show Name/ID, date and time arrested, age, arresting agency, and mugshot. Charge data appears to be part of the portal assets, but the full charge table could not be extracted from the static capture. Bond and housing fields were not confirmed from the visible roster snippets.
The Benton County inmate search portal screenshot in the research set shows the public search interface tied to the county roster.
Use the roster image as a visual cue only. Current custody, release status, and charge entries can change after the screenshot date.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search By / Name | Text | Optional or unspecified | Public snippets show the list can be searched or filtered. |
| Min Arrest Date | Date or query parameter | Optional | The URL uses minArrestDate and can be blank for a broader list. |
| sortBy | Dropdown or query parameter | Optional | The public URL uses sortBy=recentArrestDate. |
| Result list | Table or list | Not input | Name/ID, date and time arrested, age, arresting agency, and mugshot. |
Benton County Released Inmates
Past or released Benton County inmates may not remain visible on the public roster. The county did not publish a release-retention period in the reviewed sources. For older booking data, jail records, or a booking photo that no longer appears online, use the county's Data Practices Requests process or the sheriff's Records Management Division. Written requests can be sent by mail, email, fax, or in person, and the form is helpful but not mandatory.
The court path is separate. MCRO can show case records after charges are filed, but pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor cases without a conviction may not return by defendant-name search. A case number from a warrant row, citation, complaint, or court notice is often the better search key.
Benton County Inmate Record Fields
A Benton County inmate record is not the same as a certified court record. It is a jail custody record that helps identify the person, booking event, and arresting agency. Court filings, formal charges, plea outcomes, and certified copies route through Benton County District Court and MCRO.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Full public name of the listed person. |
| ID | Jail or vendor record ID, with observed examples such as 05J1258 or 24J1290. |
| Date/time arrested | Booking or arrest date and sometimes exact time. |
| Age | Age shown in roster results instead of full date of birth. |
| Arresting agency | Agency responsible for the arrest or booking transfer. |
| Mugshot | Photo column or indicator in the public roster layout. |
| Charges | Charge data appears connected to portal records, but the complete public field structure was not confirmed in static capture. |
Benton County Jail vs Prison
Custody records split by legal status. A person who was just arrested in Foley, Sauk Rapids, Rice, or an unincorporated area may be booked into Benton County Jail and appear on the county roster. A person sentenced to a prison term is searched through MN DOC after commitment. Federal and immigration searches use still other systems.
| County Jail | State Prison or Supervision | Federal or ICE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is held | Pretrial detainees, short local sentences, court transports, and accepted boarders. | Adults committed to the Minnesota Commissioner of Corrections. | Federal sentenced prisoners, federal custody cases, or adults in ICE custody. |
| Run by | Benton County Sheriff's Office. | Minnesota Department of Corrections. | BOP, U.S. Marshals, or ICE depending on custody stage. |
| Where to look | Benton County Corrections Records Search. | MN DOC public viewer. | BOP inmate locator or ICE ODLS. |
| Common gap | Released people may age off the roster. | Newly sentenced people may take several business days to appear. | Federal pretrial custody may not appear in BOP until commitment. |
Benton County Custody Fallbacks
When the Benton County inmate roster does not answer the question, move through the documented alternatives. Call jail administration at 320-968-8180 or the sheriff's main non-emergency number at 320-968-7201 for current local instructions. Submit a data request to the sheriff if the record is public but not posted. Search MCRO for court records after charges are filed, especially with a case number.
For sentenced custody, use MN DOC Locator. For federal sentenced prisoners, use BOP. For immigration custody, use ICE ODLS. Minnesota VINE can provide custody status and notification where Benton County or state data is available. No official Benton County, Minnesota sheriff custody app was found in the app research.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest or court commitment.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency that can affect release.
- DOC
- Minnesota Department of Corrections, the state prison and supervision agency.
- VINE
- A custody-status notification system, not a full court-record database.
Benton County Detention Facilities
The facility map for Benton County lists one physical detention facility from official sources. The jail and sheriff's office share the Highway 23 law-enforcement campus in Foley. Court records, county attorney records, and some hearings are nearby at the courthouse, but visitation and jail custody questions route to the jail, not the courthouse.
- Benton County Jail - county-jail custody for adult pretrial detainees, local sentenced inmates, court transports, and accepted boarded prisoners.
Benton County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Benton County inmate population?
The 2025 sheriff annual report listed a 39.28 average daily population. The jail has 102 approved secure coed beds under the 2026 MN DOC inspection, so the recent average count was well below the approved bed count.
How do I search Benton County inmates?
Start with the Benton County Corrections Records Search linked from the sheriff's office. If the person is not listed, call the jail, submit a sheriff data request, check MCRO for court activity, or search MN DOC, BOP, ICE, or VINE depending on the custody stage.
Does the Benton County roster show mugshots?
The roster snippets show a Mugshot column. Minnesota law treats many booking photographs as public law-enforcement data, but a photo may be unavailable online or temporarily withheld for a statutory reason.
Where are Benton County court records after an arrest?
Formal court records route through Benton County District Court and MCRO after charges are filed. Pending criminal cases may not return by name before conviction, so a case-number search can be more reliable.
Is there a Benton County sheriff app for inmate search?
No official Benton County, Minnesota sheriff custody app was located. Use the web roster, jail phone, records request, MCRO, MN DOC, BOP, ICE, and VINE channels documented above.