The Bradford County Inmate Population
The Bradford County inmate population is held in two separate systems. The first is the county jail, run by the Bradford County Sheriff's Office. It holds people who were just arrested, people waiting for trial, and people serving short local sentences. The second is the state prison system, run by the Florida Department of Corrections. It holds county residents who were convicted of a felony and sentenced to state time. A person can move from the first system to the second, but the two counts are reported by different agencies.
Who is counted matters. The county jail count is mostly pre-trial, meaning the charges are still being decided. The state prison count is sentenced. The size of either group rises and falls with arrests, bond decisions, court speed, and transfers to prison after sentencing. When an arrest happens, the person enters the jail count first. If a judge sets a low bond and the person posts it, they leave the count fast. If the charge is serious or a hold blocks release, they stay. Sentencing to state prison then shifts the person out of the local jail and into the Florida Department of Corrections count.
Bradford County Inmate Population Statistics
The clearest county-level numbers come from the Vera Institute Incarceration Trends project, which combines federal jail-survey data into a county profile. For the year 2024, Vera reports a Bradford County jail count of 173 people and a state prison count of 263 county residents. The sheriff's office does not publish a rated jail capacity or an official annual booking total, so those figures are left out rather than guessed.
The numbers below set the county against itself and against the rate per 100,000 residents ages 15 to 64. The rate matters because it adjusts for how many adults live in the county. A small county can still have a high rate. Each figure is from the Vera Incarceration Trends Florida profile, updated February 9, 2026, for the year shown.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Jail incarceration total | 173 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2024 |
| Jail incarceration rate (per 100k, ages 15-64) | 932 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2024 |
| Prison incarceration total | 263 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2024 |
| Prison incarceration rate (per 100k, ages 15-64) | 1,417 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2024 |
Bradford County Inmate Population Trends
Both halves of the Bradford County inmate population have grown over the past decade. Vera reports a 10-year jail change of plus 50 percent and a 10-year prison change of plus 18 percent through 2024. That means the local jail count climbed faster than the state prison count tied to the county. The sheriff's office does not publish a year-by-year jail population report, so the multi-year view leans on the Vera county comparison rather than a local annual table.
| Year | Population Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 173 in county jail | Vera county comparison table |
| 2024 | 263 in state prison | Vera county comparison table |
| 10-year change to 2024 | +50% jail / +18% prison | Vera county comparison table |
Note: statewide context from Vera shows Florida jails held about 62 percent of people pre-trial, a share that is not specific to Bradford County but frames the local mix.
Who Makes Up the Bradford County Inmate Population
A full demographic breakdown of the county jail is not published by the sheriff. Still, the structure of the population is clear from how the jail and the state system work. The jail mixes new arrests, pre-trial detainees, and people serving local sentences. The state prison count is felony-sentenced adults. The points below describe the makeup in plain terms and flag where a hard local figure was not located.
- Pre-trial vs sentenced - the county jail skews pre-trial; the state prison count is fully sentenced felons.
- Male vs female - the jail houses both men and women in separate sections; a county split was not published.
- Felony vs misdemeanor - the jail holds both; the state count is felony only.
- Held for other agencies - the jail can hold someone on another agency's detainer, shown as a hold on the roster.
Bradford County Jail Capacity and Overcrowding
The Bradford County Jail opened in 1995 and houses male and female inmates in separate sections under Maximum, Medium, and Minimum classifications. The sheriff's office does not post a rated bed capacity or a daily census, so a capacity-versus-population gap cannot be calculated from official county sources. No consent decree, overcrowding order, or new-construction plan was located in current county materials. Because the 10-year jail trend ran up by half, the county count clearly grew, but the absence of a published capacity figure means any overcrowding claim would be a guess rather than a sourced fact.
Laws Governing the Bradford County Inmate Population
Florida law makes most jail and inmate information public and sets the rules the jail must follow. Open-records law is what lets the sheriff post a roster and lets you request a booking record. Jail-standards law sets the floor for how a county detention facility runs and how it is inspected. The statutes below carry the core of that framework, each with a one-line meaning.
Key Statutes:
Florida Statutes § 119.07 - public records must be open for inspection and copying at reasonable times unless an exemption applies.
Florida Statutes § 951.23 - county and city detention facilities must adopt at least the Florida Model Jail Standards.
Florida Statutes § 951.2302 - jails are inspected, with penalties for failing the jail standards.
Florida Statutes § 119.071 - lists exemptions that can require parts of a law-enforcement record to be withheld or redacted.
The sheriff's jail page states the Bradford County Jail keeps documented compliance with the Florida Model Jail Standards and the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and that the jail is subject to inspections by the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Fire Marshal. Those rules sit behind the data the public sees.
Bradford County and the State Prison Population
Bradford County carries an unusually large state-prison presence. The Florida Department of Corrections lists three male prisons at or near county addresses: Florida State Prison and New River Correctional Institution near Raiford, and Lawtey Correctional Institution at Lawtey. These hold sentenced state prisoners from across Florida, not ordinary Bradford County pre-trial detainees. A county resident enters this count only after a felony conviction and transfer into state custody. Once that happens, the right lookup tool changes from the county jail roster to the Florida Department of Corrections inmate population search.
How to Search the Bradford County Inmate Population
The official tool for current and recent county bookings is the Bradford County SmartWeb jail roster, linked from the sheriff's Jail/Inmate Search page. It is free and needs no login. Before you start, have the person's last name ready, or a booking number if you have one. The roster opens on a "Booked Last 24 Hours" view, so it is not a full alphabetical list until you search.
To see the search form and the recent-booking list, visit the sheriff's Bradford County Sheriff's Office homepage and follow the inmate-search link.
Below is the SmartWeb jail roster as captured during research, showing the search form and the booking entries with photos and charge tables.
The screen confirms the roster publishes names, booking numbers, and charges directly in the result list rather than on a separate page. Use the steps below to run a search.
- Open the SmartWeb jail roster, or reach it through the sheriff's Jail/Inmate Search page.
- Enter the inmate's last name, and a first name if the surname is common.
- To search by date, fill in a begin and end booking date using the calendar fields.
- Open each matching entry to read charges, bond, holds, and custody status.
- If the person was sentenced and moved to prison, switch to the Florida Department of Corrections locator instead.
Current Inmate Lookup in Bradford County
The live roster defaults to current inmates and recent bookings. To find someone in custody now, leave the "Search For" menu on Current Inmates Only and search by name. The sheriff does not publish how often the system refreshes, but the default view showed people booked within the last 24 hours during research, so very recent bookings can appear quickly. The search-field table below lists what the form accepts.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | No marker shown | Use alone if unsure of spelling. |
| First Name | Text | No marker shown | Helps narrow a common surname. |
| Middle Name | Text | No marker shown | Optional. |
| Begin / End Booking Date | Date picker | No | Dates appear as MM/DD/YYYY with time. |
| Begin / End Release Date | Date picker | Conditional | Shown only for released or combined searches. |
| Search For | Dropdown | Default set | Current, Released, or Both. |
| Sorted By / Order | Dropdown | Default set | Name or Booking Date; Ascending or Descending. |
Past and Released Inmate Records
The same roster can search people who are no longer in custody. Change the "Search For" menu to Released Inmates Only or Both Current And Released, which reveals the begin and end release-date fields. The sheriff does not publish how long a released record stays searchable, so older bookings may not appear. When the roster does not show a past record, the official fallback is a public-records request to the sheriff's Records Unit, which keeps booking reports and can release them under Chapter 119, subject to redaction. Sentenced people who left for prison are found through the state locator, not the county roster.
What a Bradford County Inmate Record Shows
Each roster entry is a short profile shown right in the results. It carries the booking photo, identity fields, the booking event, bond, any holds, and a charge table. The fields below were observed on live entries during research.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Booking Number | The sheriff's booking ID, in a format like BCSO26JBN000626. |
| Booking Date | Date and time the person was booked. |
| Charges | A table of statute, court case number, charge text, degree, level, and bond. |
| Bond Amount | Overall bond, which can read "NO BOND" until first appearance. |
| Holds | A separate table when another agency, such as a neighboring county, has a hold. |
| Custody Status | Current status, observed as "In Jail." |
Common Bradford County Jail Terms
A few words show up again and again on the roster and in court paperwork. Knowing them makes a record easier to read. The short list below defines the terms most people meet first.
- First appearance
- The first court hearing after arrest, held daily around 10:00 a.m. in Bradford County, where bond is often set.
- Bond
- Money or conditions a court sets to allow release while a case is pending.
- No bond
- A status where the listed charge or hold does not allow release by paying a set amount at that time.
- Hold
- A flag from another agency or case that can keep a person in custody even if one charge has bond.
- MNI number
- The master name index number that links records for the same person across bookings.
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
The most common Bradford County search mistake is using the wrong system. Pre-trial detainees and short local sentences sit in the county jail, so the SmartWeb roster is the right tool. Sentenced felons move to a Florida Department of Corrections prison, which has its own statewide locator. The table below shows which system covers which part of the inmate population.
| County Jail | State Prison (DOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pre-trial and short sentences | Sentenced felons |
| Run By | Bradford County Sheriff's Office | Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) |
| Where to Look | SmartWeb county jail roster | FDC inmate population search |
| Stays Listed | While in county custody (release retention not published) | Through the sentence; updated weekly |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Beyond the county jail, three locators cover the rest of the inmate population. The Florida Department of Corrections inmate population search covers sentenced state prisoners and refreshes weekly, with release dates updated nightly. It does not include county-jail detainees. The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator covers federal inmates from 1982 to the present. The ICE Online Detainee Locator System covers immigration detention. Victims can also use VINELink for custody and release notifications.
The Florida Department of Corrections search form is shown below, with the fields used to look up a sentenced state prisoner.
The form searches by last name, first name, or DC number, which confirms that a sentenced inmate is found by name or state ID, not by a county booking number.
Bradford County Detention Facilities
Four facilities cover the Bradford County inmate population. The county jail holds local custody, while three Florida Department of Corrections prisons hold sentenced state inmates. Each one below has its own page with contact details and the correct lookup.
- Bradford County Jail - the sheriff-run county jail for pre-trial detainees and local sentences.
- Florida State Prison - a state prison near Raiford for sentenced male felons.
- Lawtey Correctional Institution - a state prison at Lawtey with a faith- and character-based history.
- New River Correctional Institution - a state prison near Raiford for sentenced male felons.
Bradford County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Bradford County inmate population?
For 2024, the Vera Institute Incarceration Trends project reports 173 people in the Bradford County jail and 263 county residents in state prison. The sheriff does not publish a daily census or a rated capacity, so these Vera figures are the most defensible county-level counts. The jail count grew about 50 percent over the prior decade.
How do I search the Bradford County inmate population?
Use the Bradford County SmartWeb jail roster for current and recent county bookings, searching by last name or booking date. For someone sentenced to prison, use the Florida Department of Corrections inmate population search instead. The county roster covers local custody; the state locator covers sentenced prisoners.
Can I look up a released or past inmate?
Yes, up to a point. Set the roster's "Search For" menu to Released Inmates Only or Both Current And Released to reveal release-date fields. The sheriff does not publish how long released records stay online, so older entries may be gone. When the roster comes up empty, file a public-records request with the sheriff's Records Unit.
Why are there state prisons in a small county?
Bradford County sits in a correctional corridor near Raiford and Lawtey. Florida runs three male prisons at or near county addresses. They hold sentenced inmates from across the state, not Bradford County arrestees, so a fresh local booking will not appear in the state prison locator.
When does bond show up on the roster?
Often not right away. The sheriff warns that bond is frequently unavailable until after first appearance, held daily around 10:00 a.m., when a judge's written order reaches jail staff. A record can read "NO BOND" simply because the order has not arrived yet.