The Grant County Inmate Population
The Grant County inmate population has two local meanings. The first is the local jail population at the Grant County Jail in Lancaster, run by the Grant County Sheriff's Office. That group can include recent arrestees, people waiting for court action, sentenced county-jail inmates, probation holds, and people held for other counties. The second is the state-prison population physically located in the county at Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in Boscobel. That prison is run by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, not by the Sheriff.
That split matters for every lookup. A person arrested in Lancaster, Platteville, Boscobel, or another Grant County community may begin in the county jail, appear in Grant County Circuit Court, and later move to DOC custody after a prison sentence. A jail population count is a local custody snapshot. A DOC prison count is a state custody snapshot. Court records sit in a third system, the statewide circuit-court index.
Grant County Inmate Population Statistics
Official county committee minutes give the best local jail snapshots found for Grant County. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Management minutes reported counts in the low-to-mid fifties in early 2025. Those minutes also broke the Grant County Jail population into male and female counts, electronic monitoring, sentenced people, people waiting to be sentenced, probation holds, and contract inmates. A separate correctional population reference listed the Grant County Jail local population as 53 in older Census-based correctional data. That older figure is useful context, but it is not a current rated bed count.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Grant County Jail population snapshot | 55 | Official Jan. 13, 2025 committee minutes |
| Grant County Jail population snapshot | 56 | Official Mar. 10, 2025 committee minutes |
| Grant County Jail population snapshot | 51 | Official Apr. 14, 2025 committee minutes |
| Older local jail reference population | 53 | Prisoners of the Census Wisconsin data, 12/31/2013 |
| Wisconsin Secure Program Facility capacity | 500 | High-authority facility references cited in research |
Grant County Inmate Population Trends
The Grant County inmate population snapshots do not show a long multi-year average daily population series, but they do show a stable short run in early 2025. The jail reported 55 people in January, 56 in March, and 51 in April. The mix moved from month to month. March had fewer female inmates than January and more people waiting to be sentenced. April had fewer contract inmates than January. The county also noted in 2026 that the jail was housing people from Scott, Richland, Green, Lafayette, and Crawford counties, so the jail count is not limited to Grant County arrests.
| Date | Jail Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 13, 2025 | 55 | 39 male, 16 female, 4 electronic monitoring, 15 sentenced, 14 waiting sentencing, 10 probation holds, 11 contract inmates. |
| Mar. 10, 2025 | 56 | 47 male, 9 female, 3 electronic monitoring, 13 sentenced, 17 waiting sentencing, 13 probation holds, 7 contract inmates. |
| Apr. 14, 2025 | 51 | 40 male, 11 female, 4 electronic monitoring, 15 sentenced, 15 waiting sentencing, 9 probation holds, 4 contract inmates. |
| Apr.-May 2026 | Not visible in text excerpt | Minutes state the jail held people from Scott, Richland, Green, Lafayette, and Crawford counties. |
Grant County Jail Population Makeup
The county's public minutes give useful status and sex categories, but not race, ethnicity, age bands, charge levels, or length-of-stay data. In the three 2025 snapshots, the male count ranged from 39 to 47 and the female count ranged from 9 to 16. The same reports show the Grant County jail population includes more than one custody type. Some people are serving county sentences. Some are waiting to be sentenced. Some are on probation holds. Some are counted in electronic monitoring. Contract inmates can also appear in the jail count.
- Sentenced inmates: The jail reported 15 sentenced people in January 2025, 13 in March, and 15 in April.
- Waiting for sentencing: The count was 14 in January, 17 in March, and 15 in April.
- Probation holds: The Sheriff's reports listed 10 probation holds in January, 13 in March, and 9 in April.
- Contract inmates: The early 2025 reports listed 11, 7, and 4 contract inmates, and 2026 minutes named several outside counties.
Grant County Jail Capacity Limits
The official Grant County Sheriff pages reviewed for this build did not publish a current rated bed count for the Grant County Jail. The older correctional population reference lists 53 local jail population, and the 2025 official minutes show counts close to that figure. That should not be described as a rated capacity. No current official overcrowding finding, jail construction plan, consent decree, or litigation record was located in the research. The sound reading is narrower: recent official snapshots place the jail population around the low-to-mid fifties, while current rated capacity was not found in county sources.
Wisconsin law still gives the population data legal context. County jails may hold people for several lawful reasons, including people charged with crimes, sentenced people waiting for transfer, witnesses, temporary DOC detention, and other authorized detentions. The practical effect in Grant County is clear in the Sheriff's reports. A current inmate count can mix local arrests, court commitments, probation holds, and inter-county housing on the same day.
Laws for Grant County Jail Records
Wisconsin public-records law is the starting point for Grant County jail records, booking records, and population documents. It favors public access, but it does not make every jail detail public in full or online. The Sheriff may withhold or redact records when a statute, investigation need, safety concern, juvenile rule, privacy issue, medical rule, or balancing-test reason applies. That is why a phone call can confirm custody while a written public-record request may still be needed for copies.
Key Statutes:
Wis. Stat. 19.31 states Wisconsin's public policy favoring access to public records.
Wis. Stat. 19.35 gives requesters the right to inspect or receive copies unless a valid limit applies.
Wis. Stat. 302.31 describes lawful county-jail uses, including pretrial detention and certain sentenced or transfer custody.
Wis. Stat. 302.37 sets basic jail care and maintenance duties for the sheriff or jail keeper.
Grant County State Prison Population
Wisconsin Secure Program Facility is part of the Grant County incarceration picture, but it is not part of the Grant County Jail roster. The official WSPF page describes a maximum-security DOC institution for sentenced inmates, including general population, restrictive housing, and administrative confinement. The purpose statement focuses on safely managing maximum-custody inmates and helping them gain skills for possible transfer to less secure facilities.
The public should search WSPF residents through the Wisconsin DOC Offender Locator. That locator covers convicted offenders sentenced to incarceration, supervision, or both with DOC. It does not cover people sentenced only to county jail, adjudicated juveniles, or every person of interest to law enforcement. Court filings in WCCA may show the Grant County case, while the DOC locator addresses state custody status.
The official Wisconsin DOC locator welcome screen was captured in the manifest at the DOC locator page.
The screen reminds users that state-prison custody is a separate search path from the Grant County Jail.
Search the Grant County Inmate Population
No verified official online Grant County, Wisconsin jail roster was located on the county or Sheriff websites. That finding changes the lookup order. The local phone line and public-record request portal are primary channels, not backup choices after a failed roster search. Search results for "Grant County jail roster" can surface Grant County pages from Washington, Indiana, and commercial sites. For Wisconsin, use Lancaster, Sheriff Craig Reukauf, the Grant County Sheriff's Office, WCCA, and Wisconsin DOC as the identifying facts.
For a current local jail inmate, start with the Sheriff's Office. Have the full legal name, date of birth or approximate age, arrest date, and arresting agency if known. If the person is no longer held in the jail, check whether they bonded out, were released on conditions, were moved on a warrant or hold, or entered DOC custody after sentencing.
- Call the Grant County Sheriff's Office or jail at (608) 723-2157 for current custody status.
- Use the Grant County NextRequest portal for booking records, jail records, reports, or booking-photo requests.
- Search Wisconsin Circuit Court Access for formal court charges after filing.
- Search the Wisconsin DOC locator if the person may be in state prison or supervision.
- Use BOP or ICE only when the case may be federal or immigration-related.
Grant County Current Inmate Lookup
The current inmate lookup for Grant County depends on direct official contact because no verified public roster fields were found. The older official Sheriff page also routes copies of reports and public-record requests to NextRequest by CivicPlus. A user should not expect to search the Wisconsin jail by booking number in a public online form, because the research did not find that official form.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| County jail roster fields | Not published | Not published | No verified official Grant County, Wisconsin online jail roster was located. |
| Full legal name | Phone or records request detail | Strongly useful | Use when calling the jail or filing a NextRequest request. |
| Date of birth or age | Phone or records request detail | Useful | Helps separate common names. |
| Arrest date or agency | Phone or records request detail | Useful | Helps the jail or records staff identify the booking. |
The official Sheriff's Office page in the image below provides the core local contact point. The screenshot comes from the Grant County Sheriff's Office page.
That local contact path is the most reliable first step when the county has not published a verified jail roster.
Grant County Inmate Record Details
A Grant County booking or jail record request should be specific. Ask for the person's name, booking date and time, booking number if known, arresting agency, charges or hold reason, bond or release status, release date if released, and any booking photo if requested. The jail may also have housing or classification data, but that kind of information can be withheld for safety or security.
| Record Detail | How to Read It |
|---|---|
| Booking date | Shows when jail intake occurred, not when a court case was filed. |
| Charge or hold reason | May be an arrest allegation, warrant, probation hold, DOC order, or other agency hold. |
| Bond or release status | May depend on court conditions and other holds. |
| Court date | Use WCCA or the Clerk of Court for filed case dates. |
| Booking photo | Not verified online for Grant County; request through the Sheriff and expect review. |
Grant County Jail vs Prison
The Grant County jail roster question and the DOC locator question are different. The local jail handles pretrial custody, short county sentences, probation holds, electronic monitoring, people waiting to be sentenced, and people housed under contract. Wisconsin DOC handles sentenced prison custody and community supervision. Federal and immigration detainees use still other systems.
| Custody System | Who It Covers | Where to Look |
|---|---|---|
| Grant County Jail | Recent arrests, local jail sentences, holds, contract inmates | Call the Sheriff or use NextRequest |
| Wisconsin DOC | Sentenced state prisoners and DOC supervision | Wisconsin DOC Offender Locator |
| Wisconsin courts | Filed charges, hearings, dispositions, court financial entries | WCCA and Grant County Clerk of Court |
| Federal or ICE custody | Federal prisoners, Marshals custody, immigration detainees | BOP locator, ICE ODLS, or federal court channels |
Grant County Detention Facilities
Grant County has one verified local jail and one verified state prison facility in the research. They serve different populations and use different lookup systems. The county jail is the place to start for recent local arrests and current county custody. The state prison is searched through Wisconsin DOC.
- Grant County Jail - the Sheriff's local jail for pretrial detainees, sentenced county-jail inmates, probation holds, electronic-monitoring participants, and contract inmates.
- Wisconsin Secure Program Facility - a Wisconsin DOC maximum-security prison in Boscobel for sentenced state inmates.
Grant County Custody Terms
Several terms appear in jail and court records. A short definition can keep a lookup from going to the wrong office.
- Probation hold
- A custody hold tied to a person's supervision status, which can keep someone in jail even if a local bond issue changes.
- Contract inmate
- A person housed for another county under an agreement, a category named in Grant County jail reports.
- DOC
- The Wisconsin Department of Corrections, the state system for prison custody and supervision.
- WCCA
- Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the statewide public court case index for filed circuit-court cases.
Grant County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Grant County inmate population?
The local jail snapshots found in official 2025 minutes ranged from 51 to 56 people. That is the Grant County Jail count, not the full state-prison population inside the county. Wisconsin Secure Program Facility is a separate DOC prison in Boscobel.
Is there an official Grant County jail roster online?
No verified official Grant County, Wisconsin online jail roster was found in the research. The local lookup path starts with the Sheriff's Office phone line and the official NextRequest public-record portal.
Where are court charges after an arrest?
Formal charges are court records. Search WCCA for Grant County criminal cases after the prosecutor files a complaint or other charging document, and contact the Clerk of Court for document copies.
Does VINELink replace the jail roster?
No. Wisconsin VINELink is useful for custody notification where available, but it is not a complete archive of jail records, booking sheets, or court documents.