Clinton County Inmate Population Overview
The Clinton County inmate population starts with the Clinton County Jail, the local correctional facility run by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division. That jail is the key place for people arrested by county, city, town, village, state, federal, or immigration authorities when the person is held locally. The jail also appears in New York DCJS and State Commission of Correction population reporting as the Clinton County Jail. Those reports count sentenced inmates, civil holds, federal inmates, technical parole violators, state-ready prisoners, and other unsentenced people.
Clinton County also has two state prisons within its borders: Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora and Altona Correctional Facility in Altona. These prisons are part of New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, not the county jail. They hold sentenced male state prisoners and use the statewide DOCCS locator. ICE also lists Clinton County Jail as a detention facility, so immigration custody can overlap with the jail even though the correct search path may be the ICE Online Detainee Locator System.
Clinton County Inmate Population Statistics
The most useful local figures come from three sources: the sheriff's official jail description, the DCJS monthly jail population report prepared June 1, 2026, and the Vera Institute Clinton County jail trends fact sheet. The sheriff's page states that the two-year construction and renovation project finished in July 2006 and set the Clinton County Jail capacity at 300 inmates. The DCJS report shows a May 2026 jail census of 124, with 123 people in house and one boarded out.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Clinton County Jail rated capacity | 300 inmates | Clinton County Sheriff's Office, post-2006 facility note |
| Clinton County Jail census | 124 | DCJS monthly jail population report, May 2026 |
| In-house population | 123 | DCJS/SCOC report, May 2026 |
| Sentenced in-house | 23 | DCJS/SCOC report, May 2026 |
| Federal in-house | 13 | DCJS/SCOC report, May 2026 |
| Other unsentenced | 80 | DCJS/SCOC report, May 2026 |
Clinton County Inmate Population Trends
The Clinton County inmate population moved down in the latest DCJS 13-month row. DCJS reported 149 people in the May 2025 census and 124 in May 2026, a 17 percent May-to-May decline. That drop was steeper than the all-New York jail decline of 11 percent and the non-New York City jail decline of 10 percent in the same report. The Vera fact sheet also found a longer drop from 174 people on an average day in May 2019 to 141 in May 2022.
| Month or Year | Population Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | 174 average day | Vera Clinton County fact sheet |
| May 2022 | 141 average day | Vera reported a 19 percent decrease from May 2019 |
| May 2025 | 149 census | DCJS 13-month jail population trend row |
| September 2025 | 163 census | Highest Clinton County row value in the DCJS 13-month table |
| May 2026 | 124 census | DCJS report prepared June 1, 2026 |
Who Is Counted in Clinton County Jail
DCJS separates the Clinton County Jail count into local and outside-agency groups. In May 2026, the in-house count included 23 sentenced people, 13 federal inmates, four technical parole violators, two state-ready prisoners, and 80 other unsentenced people. "State ready" means a person has been sentenced to state prison but has not yet transferred to DOCCS. "Other unsentenced" generally covers people waiting for arraignment, trial, sentencing, or other court action.
Vera's Clinton County data gives more context on why those groups matter. Vera reported that the pretrial share fell from 44 percent in May 2019 to 34 percent in May 2022. The same fact sheet reported that total admissions moved from 130 in May 2019 to 107 in May 2022 and median length of stay fell from 64 days to 51 days. These figures are not a live roster, but they explain the custody mix behind the Clinton County inmate population.
- Pretrial
- A person held before final case disposition.
- State ready
- A sentenced person waiting in the county jail for DOCCS transfer.
- Technical parole violator
- A person held on a parole-violation warrant rather than a new conviction.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency that can affect release.
Clinton County Jail Capacity
Using the sheriff's published 300-inmate capacity and the DCJS May 2026 census of 124, the jail was well below rated capacity in that month. The comparison uses two official sources from different publication dates, so it should be read as a capacity context rather than a daily operating statement. The sheriff's older 2016 snapshot said the jail averaged 210 people per day that year, which was about 70 percent of the stated 300-inmate capacity.
The 2016 sheriff narrative also shows the scale of jail operations. It reported up to 78 boarded-in inmates per day in July 2016, more than $1.5 million in offsetting revenue, 1,067 court transports moving 3,607 inmates, and 237,430 meals served. Those figures are older, but they are official and local. They also explain why Clinton County inmate population counts can include people held for other governments, not only local arrests.
Clinton County Jail Record Laws
New York public-record law and corrections rules shape what can be seen about the Clinton County inmate population. Public Officers Law Article 6, the Freedom of Information Law, is the main route for requesting agency records that are not posted online. Public Officers Law section 87 sets access rules and exemptions. Public Officers Law section 89 includes privacy language, including limits on arrest and booking photographs.
Key record rules: FOIL can open access to jail records, but privacy, sealed-record, investigatory, and statutory exemptions still apply. 9 NYCRR 7000.1 and the State Commission of Correction regulations provide the state framework for local correctional standards. CPL 160.10 governs fingerprinting and photographing after qualifying arrests, but it is not a blanket publication rule for mugshots.
Search Clinton County Inmates
The Clinton County website does not publish a simple static jail roster table. The Corrections Division page links inmate lookup to VINELink, and the sheriff's page advertises the MobilePatrol Public Safety app. That makes the lookup chain different from counties with a local roster grid. For a recent local arrest, start with VINELink or MobilePatrol, then use the jail phone line if the person does not appear.
The county's official sheriff page shows the jail, the MobilePatrol app, offender search, and VINE resources together. The screenshot captured from the Clinton County Sheriff's Office page is useful because it shows those public-safety channels in the local county context.
The sheriff page is also the best starting point for distinguishing county jail custody from other law-enforcement resources before moving to VINE, MobilePatrol, DOCCS, BOP, or ICE.
- Decide whether the person is likely in county jail, state prison, federal custody, or immigration detention.
- Use New York VINE for Clinton County Jail custody search and notification registration.
- Use the MobilePatrol Public Safety app when the county website does not show a roster table.
- Call corrections at 518-565-4343 or the sheriff's main number at 518-565-4300 when online results are thin.
- File the sheriff's FOIL form for booking records, incident records, or other jail documents not released through public lookup.
Clinton County Current Inmate Lookup
VINELink and MobilePatrol cover different parts of the public lookup experience. VINE is the custody-status and notification path. MobilePatrol is important because the sheriff advertises it and the app materials describe current inmate information, recent bookings listed in order, and searches by first name, last name, age, gender, or alphabetical browsing. If a new arrest is not visible online, the jail phone line remains the most direct fallback.
| Channel | Search Inputs | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| New York VINE | Name, offender ID, state/facility filters when available | Custody status and release notifications |
| MobilePatrol | First name, last name, age, gender, agency/location, alphabetical browsing | Current inmate and recent-booking features advertised by the sheriff |
| Jail phone line | Name, date of birth, booking date, agency, booking number if known | Fresh arrests, release status, or bail booking-number questions |
| CCSO FOIL form | Detailed record description and requester contact information | Booking records or jail documents not posted online |
Clinton County Inmate Record Fields
Because Clinton County routes public lookup through VINE and MobilePatrol rather than a county-hosted roster table, record fields should be read as channel-specific. The county's bail instructions confirm several operational fields: defendant name, date of birth, booking number, court or judge, and cash bail amount. MobilePatrol documents first and last name search, age, gender, chronological recent bookings, and warrants. VINE focuses on custody status and notification registration.
| Field | What It Means for Clinton County Lookup |
|---|---|
| Name | Used to identify the person in VINE, MobilePatrol, phone, or FOIL searches. |
| Booking number | Needed for online bail payment; call 518-565-4351 if it is unknown. |
| Custody status | The VINE notification subject for release or custody changes. |
| Court or judge | Connects booking and bail to the court that set release conditions. |
| Housing pod | Not confirmed as a public profile field, but A-Pod, C-Pod, D-Pod, and MED/MAX appear in the county visitation schedule. |
| Booking photo | Not confirmed on the county website; New York privacy law can limit booking-photo release. |
County Jail vs State Prison
A Clinton County inmate search can fail when the wrong system is used. The county jail is for local arrest, pretrial custody, local sentences, and certain outside-agency holds. DOCCS is for sentenced state prisoners. BOP is for federal prisoners from 1982 to present after designation or sentencing. ICE ODLS is for people in immigration custody or CBP custody for more than 48 hours. A Clinton County criminal case does not guarantee that a sentenced person will be housed at Clinton Correctional or Altona.
| Custody Type | Lookup System | Clinton County Context |
|---|---|---|
| Local jail custody | VINE, MobilePatrol, jail phone line | Clinton County Jail in Plattsburgh |
| Sentenced state prison | DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup | Clinton and Altona are in the county, but DOCCS assigns statewide |
| Federal sentenced custody | BOP Inmate Locator | No BOP prison is located in Clinton County |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator System | ICE lists Clinton County Jail as a detention facility |
Clinton County Detention Facilities
Facility type drives the correct inmate lookup. Clinton County Jail is the local jail. Clinton Correctional Facility and Altona Correctional Facility are state prisons. Each facility needs a different records path, visitor rule set, and custody vocabulary.
- Clinton County Jail - local jail for pretrial detainees, local sentenced people, state-ready prisoners, technical parole violators, and federal or ICE board-ins when present.
- Clinton Correctional Facility - DOCCS maximum-security state prison in Dannemora for sentenced male state prisoners.
- Altona Correctional Facility - DOCCS medium-security state prison in Altona for sentenced male state prisoners.
Clinton County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Clinton County inmate population? DCJS reported a Clinton County Jail census of 124 for May 2026. The sheriff's page lists a 300-inmate capacity for the jail after the 2006 project, and Vera reported 141 people incarcerated on an average day in May 2022.
Where do I search for a current Clinton County jail inmate? Start with New York VINE and MobilePatrol, because the county website routes inmate lookup to VINE and advertises MobilePatrol. If the person was just arrested or a booking number is needed for bail, call the jail or booking office.
Does the Clinton County inmate population include state prisons? Population reports for the county jail do not turn Clinton Correctional or Altona into county jail facilities. Those two prisons are DOCCS facilities, and sentenced state prisoners are searched through DOCCS.
Can a released inmate be found later? Sometimes. VINE is mainly a custody tool, while DOCCS provides current and some former incarcerated-individual information. Older jail booking records may require a FOIL request to the sheriff's office.