The Choctaw County Inmate Population
The key fact about the Choctaw County inmate population is the absence of an operating local jail. A state audit reports that the Choctaw County jail in Butler closed in July 2019, and the jail funds had no activity after that date. The Choctaw County Sheriff's Office remains the local jailor and record authority under Alabama law, but it no longer runs an in-county detention facility. People arrested in Choctaw County are booked and then housed at an outside jail.
Because of the closure, the county does not report a daily in-county jail count. The population that matters for a search is the set of Choctaw County detainees held elsewhere. Local reporting points to the Washington County Jail in Chatom as the main holding facility after the closure. When a person is convicted and sentenced to state prison, that person joins the statewide prison population, which the Alabama Department of Corrections tracks in a separate system.
Choctaw County Inmate Population Statistics
There is no current in-county jail population to count, since the local jail is closed. The strongest figures available describe the closure itself and the holding facility now used. On the closure day in July 2019, news reports said 23 prisoners were moved out of the Butler jail to the Clarke County Jail. The Washington County Jail, which now holds Choctaw detainees, lists an average daily population of 80 inmates of its own.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Choctaw in-county jail population | 0 active | State audit; jail closed July 2019 |
| Prisoners moved at closure | 23 | Alabama Public Radio/AP, July 2019 |
| Washington County Jail daily average | 80 inmates | Washington County jail page, 2026 |
| Alabama state inmates (total) | 27,601 | ADOC inmate search page, May 2026 |
| Choctaw County residents | 12,664 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, 2020 |
The Washington County average is that facility's own daily count, not a Choctaw figure, though it may include Choctaw detainees. The state total is statewide ADOC, and the resident figure is county population, not a jail number.
Choctaw County Inmate Population Trends
The clearest trend in the Choctaw County inmate population is the shift from a local jail to out-of-county housing. Before July 2019, the county ran its own jail in Butler. After the closure, local detainees moved to outside facilities, with the Clarke County Jail receiving the closure-day transfer and the Washington County Jail serving as the later holding point. No multi-year in-county count exists to chart, because the jail no longer operates.
| Period | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Before July 2019 | Local jail open | Choctaw County jail in Butler housed local detainees |
| July 2019 | Jail closed | 23 prisoners moved to Clarke County Jail |
| After July 2019 | Out-of-county housing | Choctaw detainees held at Washington County Jail per local reporting |
For a current count of Choctaw detainees, the sheriff's office is the starting point, since no in-county roster or population report exists to track.
Who Makes Up the Choctaw County Inmate Population
With no operating local jail, there is no in-county roster to break down by age, sex, or charge level, so those local shares are not published. The population is best described by where people are held and how they got there. Statewide prison figures fill in the wider context.
- Choctaw arrestees held out of county are booked by the sheriff and housed at an outside jail.
- Washington County detainees share that facility, which averages about 80 inmates of its own.
- Holds for other agencies can appear on the holding facility's roster as a custody flag.
- State prison demographics statewide skew heavily male: ADOC counted 25,007 men and 2,592 women in May 2026.
Choctaw County Jail Capacity and Closure
The Choctaw County jail is closed, so there is no current local capacity to report. A state audit is the strongest official source for the closure, stating that the jail closed in July 2019 and that jail funds had no activity afterward. No official Choctaw jail capacity was located in a current official source, and third-party numbers are not used here.
Because the population now sits at an outside facility, any capacity or crowding question belongs to the holding jail, not Choctaw County. The Washington County Jail publishes an average daily population of 80, but it does not publish a separate Choctaw figure, so an out-of-county Choctaw count was not located.
Laws Governing the Choctaw County Inmate Population
Alabama law makes much of this information public and shapes how the sheriff keeps and releases records even without a local jail. The open-records statute is the backbone, the response-duty rule sets timing, and the investigative-materials and juvenile statutes explain why some records stay closed. Each statute below carries a short plain-English meaning.
Key Statutes:
Alabama Code § 36-12-40 - Gives Alabama residents the right to inspect and copy public records, including many custody records, unless an exception applies.
Alabama Code § 36-12-44 - Governs a public officer's response duties and timing for public-records requests.
Alabama Code § 12-21-3.1 - Covers law-enforcement investigative reports, a key limit on active or sensitive arrest records.
Alabama Code § 12-15-133 - Keeps juvenile court records and related child information confidential except as the law allows.
Petitions to expunge certain records after a qualifying outcome are governed by Alabama Code section 15-27-1, which can later remove some entries from public access.
Choctaw County and the State Prison Population
When a person from Choctaw County is convicted and sentenced to state prison, that person joins the statewide population held by the Alabama Department of Corrections. The ADOC inmate search page displayed 27,601 total inmates statewide in May 2026, with 25,007 men and 2,592 women. No state prison sits inside Choctaw County, so sentenced residents are housed at ADOC facilities elsewhere.
This matters for any search. Neither the closed county jail nor the outside holding facility tracks a person after a transfer to state custody. From that point, the ADOC inmate search is the right tool. The state search covers current inmates only and carries no historical data online.
How to Search the Choctaw County Inmate Population
Because the local jail is closed, a Choctaw County inmate search is a channel sequence rather than a single online roster. Start with the sheriff to learn who has the person, then check the holding facility. Before you start, gather the person's full name and an approximate arrest date.
The Choctaw County Sheriff's Office is the local record authority and the first call for any custody question.
When the sheriff names Washington County as the holding jail, that agency publishes a current-inmates page for the people held there: Washington County current-inmates page.
Because the Choctaw jail is closed, much of the Choctaw County inmate population appears on this Washington County roster rather than on a local list.
- Call the Choctaw County Sheriff's Office at (205) 459-2166 and ask whether the person is in custody and which outside jail is holding them.
- If staff name the Washington County Jail, use the Washington County current-inmates page or call (251) 847-2202.
- For a recent arrest, also check the Washington County 24-hour booking report, since a person may appear there before the current roster.
- If the person may be sentenced, search the ADOC inmate search instead of any county channel.
- For federal or immigration custody, use the federal locators, and for formal charges use the court channels.
Current Inmate Lookup in Choctaw County
There is no Choctaw web roster, so a current lookup runs through the holding facility. The Washington County current-inmates page is a static public table with no search form, so a browser find is the practical way to scan it. The table below shows the columns that page publishes.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Table column | n/a | Last name and first or middle name shown in uppercase. |
| Date | Table column | n/a | Booking or custody date, shown in M/D/YYYY format. |
| Bond Amt | Table column | n/a | Dollar amount; may be blank or list multiple entries; bond type not shown. |
| Charges | Table column | n/a | Plain-language charge descriptions, including holds for other agencies. |
Past and Released Inmate Records
The Washington County current-inmates table shows people in custody now, not a release archive, so a past record usually means a request to the responsible agency. For a Choctaw County arrest, the sheriff's office is the local record custodian and can explain how to request a booking or custody record under Alabama public-records law. For a person held by Washington County, that jail handles its own records.
For someone who was sentenced and sent to state prison, neither county channel will track them after transfer. The ADOC search shows current state inmates only and carries no historical data online, so an older state record may require a written records request to the state corrections department instead.
What a Choctaw County Inmate Record Shows
Since Choctaw runs no roster, the record you see depends on the holding facility. The Washington County current-inmates table is limited: it shows name, date, bond amount, and charges, with no mugshot, booking number, or demographics. The fields below reflect what that table publishes, with the state search shown for comparison.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The detainee's full name in the table row. |
| Date | A booking or custody date, with no time shown. |
| Bond Amount | A dollar amount, with no bond type or per-charge breakdown explained. |
| Charges | Plain-language charge descriptions, which may include holds for other agencies. |
| Mugshot | Not shown on the Washington County current-inmates table. |
| Booking number | Not shown on the public table. |
After a transfer to state prison, the record changes shape. The ADOC search returns an AIS number, name, race, sex, current institution, and release date, which describe state custody rather than a county booking.
The formal charges behind a booking move into the court record through the circuit clerk's office: Choctaw County Circuit Clerk records page.
Use the circuit clerk's court-record access to follow the charges and case status that outlast a single booking in the Choctaw County inmate population.
County Jail vs. State Prison: Where to Look
The split between local custody and the state prison system decides which search to run. With the Choctaw jail closed, pre-trial detainees and people on short sentences are held at an outside county jail. Sentenced felons move to a state prison run by the corrections department, which keeps its own locator. Using the wrong system is the most common reason a search fails.
| Local Custody | State Prison (DOC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who Is Held | Pre-trial and short sentences | Sentenced felons |
| Run By | Choctaw County Sheriff via an outside jail | Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) |
| Where to Look | Sheriff, then Washington County roster | State inmate locator |
| Stays Listed | Current inmates on the holding-jail table | Current inmates only; no online history |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Three separate locators cover the inmate population beyond local custody. The ADOC inmate search finds sentenced Alabama state prisoners by AIS number or name. The Federal Bureau of Prisons locator covers federal inmates from 1982 to the present. The ICE Online Detainee Locator System covers adult immigration detainees and requires a nine-digit A-number or biographical details.
Each answers a different question. The state tool is for Alabama convictions, the federal tool is for federal sentences, and the ICE tool is for immigration custody. None of them replaces the sheriff or the holding jail for a current local booking. Victims can register for custody and release alerts through VINELink for the holding agency.
The federal locator shows the number and name search tabs used for federal custody: Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
Use this federal tool when a person from Choctaw County may be in federal sentenced custody, since it does not track the local inmate population held through the sheriff or the holding jail.
Choctaw County Detention Facilities
Choctaw County's detention map reflects the jail closure. The sheriff remains the local record authority, but local detainees are housed out of county. No state prison, federal, or immigration facility sits inside the county.
- Choctaw County Sheriff's Office / Closed Choctaw County Jail - The sheriff in Butler remains the local jailor and record authority, but the county jail closed in July 2019.
- Washington County Jail - The regional jail in Chatom that holds Choctaw County detainees after the closure.
Choctaw County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Choctaw County inmate population?
There is no active in-county jail population, because the Choctaw County jail closed in July 2019. Local detainees are held at an outside facility. The Washington County Jail, which now holds Choctaw detainees, averages about 80 inmates of its own, but no separate Choctaw count was located.
How do I search the Choctaw County inmate population?
Start by calling the Choctaw County Sheriff's Office at (205) 459-2166 to learn which jail holds the person. If it is the Washington County Jail, use that facility's current-inmates page or call (251) 847-2202. There is no Choctaw web roster because the local jail is closed.
Can I look up a released or past inmate?
The Washington County table shows current inmates, not a release archive. For a past record, ask the sheriff's office, the local record custodian, how to file a public-records request. A person sentenced to state prison appears in the ADOC search instead, which shows current inmates only.
Where do sentenced inmates go after a Choctaw County arrest?
After conviction and sentencing to state prison, a person joins the Alabama Department of Corrections system. No state prison sits in Choctaw County, so they are housed elsewhere. Neither the closed county jail nor the holding facility tracks their location after transfer.
Why does Choctaw County have no jail roster?
The county jail in Butler closed in July 2019, according to a state audit, and 23 prisoners were moved to the Clarke County Jail at the time. With no operating jail, the county runs no online roster. Custody questions go through the sheriff and the outside holding jail.
Does the holding facility roster show mugshots?
The Washington County current-inmates table does not show mugshots, booking numbers, or demographics. It lists only name, date, bond amount, and charges. For a booking photo or a fuller record, ask the holding facility or the sheriff how to request it, subject to redaction rules.