How to Look Up St. Louis County Jail Population Data
There is no single live St. Louis County jail population dashboard on the official county site. Three sources together carry the available data. The county council's annual Justice Services budget is the cleanest official number for facility cost and headcount intent. Regional justice-policy reports and state-level Missouri data on county jails carry historical average daily population (ADP) figures. The Bureau of Justice Statistics provides national benchmarks that put county-level numbers in context.
For real-time confirmation that a specific person is in the jail, call Justice Services at 314-615-5245 with the person's full name and date of birth. For statewide custody status of a former St. Louis County inmate who was transferred to prison, the Missouri Department of Corrections offender web search returns current status, location and supervision data. The DOC also publishes a nightly all-offender data file.
The Missouri Courts page above links the official DOC tool and explains the nightly offender file. It is the right starting point when an inmate has been moved out of county custody.
St. Louis County Jail Capacity
The Buzz Westfall Justice Center is the only county-run jail in St. Louis County. Older regional collaboration reports list capacity around 1,200 to 1,400 beds depending on the bed-count method. Public references cite roughly 1,400 capacity. The table below summarizes the facility profile.
| Facility | Address | Capacity / Notes | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buzz Westfall Justice Center | 100 South Central Avenue, Clayton, MO 63105 | Approximately 1,400-bed capacity by public references; older regional reports cite 1,200-1,400 depending bed-count method. | 314-615-5245 |
The facility is one block south of the Courts Building. Justice Services runs intake, classification, housing, medical services and discharge. Capacity is not the same as average daily population; ADP usually sits below capacity, and a jail can be classified as overcrowded based on a specific housing unit even when the total count is under capacity.
Average Daily Population
Regional justice-reinvestment material cited St. Louis County jail average daily population near 1,250 in 2018, with about 64 percent of the population in pretrial status. National public reporting in 2026 described the jail as overcrowded and understaffed, with officer employment decreasing between 2021 and 2024 while the incarcerated population increased. Day-to-day fluctuation is normal; a single arrest sweep or a court backlog can move the daily count by dozens of people.
County official budget figures reported by St. Louis Public Radio say the 2026 Justice Services budget is $40.1 million, $1.2 million less than the department requested. The 2025 general jail budget was $40.4 million. The budget is not a head count, but it tracks staffing, medical contracts, food and facility upkeep that scale with population.
Pretrial vs Sentenced Population
Jails differ from prisons in the share of people held pretrial. A prison is mostly sentenced people serving terms over one year. A jail like the Buzz Westfall Justice Center holds a mix: people awaiting first appearance, people held on bond, people serving short sentences, and some held on holds for other agencies.
| Status | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Pretrial | Charged but not yet convicted; held while the criminal case is open. |
| Sentenced | Convicted and serving a county sentence, usually under one year. |
| Hold for other agency | Held on a warrant or detainer from another county, state or federal agency. |
| Awaiting transfer | Sentenced to prison; waiting for transport to Missouri DOC. |
The 2018 regional figure of around 64 percent pretrial is in line with what national jail data sees as a common ratio. Pretrial reform efforts in Missouri and bond practice in the 21st Judicial Circuit affect this share over time.
Note: Pretrial status does not mean guilt; pretrial detainees are presumed not guilty under federal and Missouri due process.
Misdemeanor vs Felony Population
Most jail beds in Missouri counties go to felony pretrial defendants. Misdemeanor defendants more often receive bond at first appearance and are released within hours of booking. Sentencing on most misdemeanors falls well under one year and is served in the county jail rather than in the Missouri DOC. The 21st Judicial Circuit divisions 1-21 handle felony matters; associate divisions 31-44 handle most misdemeanors and associate civil cases.
The mix between misdemeanor and felony beds also shifts when treatment-court programs run smoothly. Drug and DWI treatment dockets in Division 68 can shift defendants out of jail and into community-based supervision; sanctions for noncompliance can move people back into jail beds briefly.
Mental Health and Medical Population
Jail medical and mental-health caseloads scale with the population. Justice Services screens at intake for medical and mental-health needs. The 21st Judicial Circuit's mental health treatment court in Division 68 takes eligible defendants out of jail and into court-supervised treatment. The probate division handles 96-hour mental-health hold petitions; the official local court site posts probate forms for civil commitment.
The probate forms page is the launch point for 96-hour holds and other civil-commitment filings that move people between hospital, jail and community supervision.
National and State Context
The Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes annual Jail Inmates at Midyear and Census of Jails reports that provide national jail rates per 100,000 residents, demographic breakdowns and pretrial shares. Vera Institute's Incarceration Trends project publishes county-level estimates pulled from BJS data, which lag by one to two years for individual counties.
| Source | Use Case |
|---|---|
| St. Louis County Council budget materials | Justice Services budget and policy direction. |
| Missouri DOC offender web search | Current state-supervised offender lookups. |
| BJS Jail Inmates at Midyear | National jail population benchmark. |
| Vera Institute Incarceration Trends | County-level estimates and history. |
| Local news outlets | Real-time reporting on staffing and overcrowding. |
Comparing a county number to a national rate is most useful per 100,000 residents. St. Louis County's population is roughly 1,004,125 by county budget snippets, so a 1,250 ADP corresponds to about 124 jailed residents per 100,000 from a strictly county-residents calculation, before adjustments for holds and out-of-county defendants.
St. Louis County Population Trends Over Time
The five-year arc described in regional justice-policy work and St. Louis Public Radio reporting moves in four phases. The 2018 baseline near 1,250 ADP set the high-water mark for the late 2010s. The 2020 and 2021 pandemic years pulled jail population down across the country as courts slowed; St. Louis County followed that trend. The 2022 through 2024 stretch saw criminal dockets normalize and jail population pressure return. The 2025 and 2026 budget cycle was framed by reporting on staffing shortages, medical care and overcrowding even as the council approved a smaller budget than the department requested.
Day-to-day spikes are common. A holiday weekend, a single felony sweep or a court closure for weather can shift the daily count by a few percentage points. The structural drivers, including bond practice in the 21st Judicial Circuit, prosecutor charging policy under Melissa Price Smith, and jail staffing levels, move slowly but produce the long-term lines that show up in budget hearings and state reports.
Searching for St. Louis County Inmate Records by Name
This page is jail population data, not an individual inmate lookup. To find a specific inmate by name or case number, use the St. Louis County inmate records page. Justice Services confirms current custody by phone at 314-615-5245. Case.net carries the related criminal case once a charge is filed, including bond and the next court date.
Where the Data Comes From
Reliable jail population numbers come from a small set of sources. The list below shows what to cite for each kind of question.
- Budget and staffing. St. Louis County Council budget hearings and the Justice Services line item.
- ADP and pretrial share. Regional justice-reinvestment reports and Missouri-specific jail data.
- State custody status. Missouri DOC offender search and the nightly offender data file.
- National benchmarks. BJS Jail Inmates at Midyear and Vera Institute Incarceration Trends.
- Real-time custody check. Justice Services 314-615-5245 with name and date of birth.
- Court case data. Missouri Case.net at courts.mo.gov/cnet.
Pair these sources rather than relying on any single number. A budget figure can rise while ADP drops if salaries increase faster than head count, and an ADP number from one source can lag another by months.