The Fort Bend County Inmate Population
The local custody map has one county jail and three active Texas Department of Criminal Justice units in Richmond. The Fort Bend County Detention Facility is the public starting point for current adult county custody, including pretrial defendants, short county sentences, people waiting on transfer, other-agency holds, and United States Marshals Service contract inmates when housed under local agreement. The sheriff's detention pages describe intake, housing, property, imaging, bonding, grievances, medical meals, and PREA functions inside that jail system.
The state prison side is separate. Beauford H. Jester III Unit, Wayne Scott Unit, and Carol S. Vance Unit are TDCJ prisons in Fort Bend County. They hold sentenced state prisoners, not newly booked county jail inmates. A person arrested in Richmond, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Rosenberg, or another Fort Bend community normally appears first through the county jail path if booked into local custody. After a state prison sentence and transfer, the proper search moves to TDCJ.
Fort Bend County Inmate Population Statistics
The most current jail-population figures in the research come from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards population reports. The TCJS current population spreadsheet for June 1, 2026 listed the Fort Bend County jail with 1,770 rated beds and 828 people in the total jail population. The related incarceration-rate file used 839 as the adjusted current-rate population and a county population base of 958,434. TCJS reports are a first-day-of-month snapshot, not a count of all bookings during the month.
| Measure | Figure | Source / date |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Bend County jail population | 828 | TCJS PopRptCurrent.xlsx, June 1, 2026 |
| Rated county jail capacity | 1,770 | TCJS PopRptCurrent.xlsx, June 1, 2026 |
| Percent of capacity | About 46.8% | TCJS Fort Bend row, June 1, 2026 |
| Adjusted current-rate population | 839 | TCJS IncarcerationRateCurrent.xlsx, June 1, 2026 |
| County population used for rate | 958,434 | TCJS rate file, June 1, 2026 |
| Incarceration rate | 0.88 per 1,000 residents | TCJS rate file, June 1, 2026 |
Fort Bend County Jail Population Trends
The TCJS rate rows show a fairly narrow band across 2025 and the first half of 2026. Fort Bend County moved from 798 on January 1, 2025 to 839 on June 1, 2026 in the adjusted current-rate population line. The count dipped to 803 on January 1, 2026, then returned to the low 800s by spring. Those figures do not prove a booking surge or decline by themselves because they are point-in-time rows, but they do show that the Fort Bend County inmate population stayed well below rated jail capacity during the researched period.
| Date | Fort Bend figure | Rate note |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 1, 2025 | 798 | TCJS rate row, 0.83 |
| Apr. 1, 2025 | 819 | TCJS rate row, 0.85 |
| Jul. 1, 2025 | 833 | TCJS rate row, 0.87 |
| Oct. 1, 2025 | 839 | TCJS rate row, 0.87 |
| Jan. 1, 2026 | 803 | TCJS rate row, 0.84 |
| Apr. 1, 2026 | 828 | TCJS rate row, 0.86 |
| Jun. 1, 2026 | 839 | TCJS rate row, 0.88 |
The county jail number rises or falls with arrests, magistrate decisions, bond posting, dismissals, jail sentences, transfers to TDCJ, and other-agency holds. Fort Bend's own pages add useful local detail: the Bonding Office reviews release papers before a person leaves for the street, TDCJ, or another agency, and the Housing Unit prepares some people for night-shift transfers to state jail, TDCJ, or outside agencies.
Fort Bend County Jail Capacity
Official TCJS data did not show current overcrowding at the Fort Bend County Detention Facility in the researched report. The June 1, 2026 jail population of 828 was less than half of the 1,770-bed rating. No official DOJ consent decree, county jail overcrowding lawsuit, or new jail construction project was located in the county, TCJS, or TDCJ sources reviewed for this build. That means the strongest supported statement is narrow: the current TCJS snapshot placed the county jail below capacity on that report date.
Population note: TCJS population reports are snapshots submitted by local departments, and TCJS says those agencies are responsible for accuracy and data quality.
Laws Governing Fort Bend Jail Data
Fort Bend County inmate population records sit inside a Texas public-records and jail-standards framework. The public jail roster is the first path for current custody, while older booking records, incident reports, photos, and release data may require a written request to FBCSO Records. Some data can be withheld or redacted for privacy, legal, security, personal-identifying-information, confidential legal material, or attorney-client privilege reasons.
Key Texas laws:
Texas Government Code chapter 552 sets the Texas Public Information Act process for records held by state and local government bodies.
Texas Government Code chapter 511 creates and governs the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which supports county jail standards and population reporting.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.1396 requires custodial death reporting by law-enforcement or jail officials.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 17 governs bail and personal bond procedures that affect whether a booked person remains in custody.
Fort Bend County State Prison Population
The three TDCJ units physically in Fort Bend County add a large sentenced-prison capacity beside the county jail. Jester III has a listed capacity of 1,185, Scott has 550, and Vance has 378. Together, the active TDCJ units in the facility map account for 2,113 state-prison beds in Fort Bend County. These beds should not be combined with the county jail number when describing current jail custody because the systems serve different legal stages.
Jester III houses male G1-G3 and outside-trusty prisoners and has medical, dental, mental health, assisted-living, wheelchair, therapy, and chronic-care functions. Scott is a male in-patient mental-health prison unit. Vance houses male G1-G2 prisoners and has faith-based and transformational-ministry programming. The TDCJ unit pages, not the county jail roster, are the proper source for these state facilities.
Search the Fort Bend County Jail Roster
The official county lookup is the Fort Bend County Jail Public Information Inquiry. It is free, did not require login during inspection, and uses a simple name form. The search accepts a full or partial last name, a full or partial first name, or both. The results table shows Name, Jail ID, Race, and Sex, with a booking number present in the page HTML but hidden from ordinary table display. Clicking a linked name opens the detail card.
- Open the Jail Public Information Inquiry search page.
- Enter a last name, first name, or partial spelling when the full name is uncertain.
- Click Search and compare the visible Jail ID, race, and sex rows when names repeat.
- Open the linked inmate name to view the public identity and charge table.
- If no result appears, retry spelling, then use the detention phone line, records request, TDCJ, BOP, ICE, or VINELink as the facts require.
The Fort Bend County inmate records page gives a fuller roster walkthrough for current custody, older booking records, visitation, and contact channels.
Fort Bend County Inmate Lookup Fields
The roster search is more limited than many jail systems because it does not expose charge, date, facility, or booking-number fields on the public search form. That limit can help narrow the task: start broad with a partial last name, then use the result table and detail page to verify the match. The county did not post a public refresh interval or a released-inmate retention rule on the inspected search page.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | Optional if first name is supplied | Full or partial last name, HTML name/id LastName. |
| First Name | Text | Optional if last name is supplied | Full or partial first name, HTML name/id FirstName. |
| SearchButton | Submit | n/a | Runs the GET search with SearchButton=Search. |
| ClearButton | Submit | n/a | Clears the form. |
The screenshot captured from the Fort Bend jail inquiry search page shows the two-field layout used for public roster searches.
That simple form is why partial names matter; it is the main way to broaden a search before calling the jail or filing a records request.
Fort Bend County Inmate Record Details
A Fort Bend County inmate detail card can show an image slot, name, Jail ID, age, race, sex, agency, authority, warrant number, JUS, charge description, LVL, bail type, bail amount, fines, and disposition. The inspected sample used an Image Unavailable placeholder, so a booking-photo area exists but a live photo is not guaranteed for every public profile. Fields such as date of birth, height, weight, booking time, housing unit, court date, magistrate name, projected release date, and full statute citation were not observed on the inspected detail page.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Jail ID | Public Fort Bend identifier beginning with P followed by digits. |
| Agency and Authority | The arresting or holding agency and an authority code used in the charge table. |
| Warrant Number | A court, warrant, or case-related identifier tied to the row. |
| Charge Description | The jail-system wording for the alleged offense, hold, or court order. |
| Bail Type and Amount | Release-related fields that may be blank or show $0.00 without meaning release is available. |
| Disposition | A case or charge status field, which may be blank on the jail profile. |
Past Fort Bend Inmate Records
When a person is no longer listed on the current roster, the fallback is the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office public-information process. The FBCSO open-records page says requests must be in writing and may be sent by email, mail, in person, fax, or the FBCSO mobile app. The Records Division asks requesters to be specific and include the record description, date range, addresses, and names when possible. The page says to allow 10 business days for a response, with longer timing possible for complex or large requests.
Records requests are the local path for a booking sheet, arrest report, older custody record, booking photo not shown online, or release information that is not visible in the Jail Public Information Inquiry. Court case records are separate and should be researched through Fort Bend court access or clerk channels. Sentenced state-prison records are searched through TDCJ.
County Jail vs TDCJ Search
Fort Bend County has both a county jail and state prisons, so the correct search depends on legal status. A new arrest, bond question, county booking photo, or short county-jail stay starts with FBCSO and the Jail Public Information Inquiry. A person sentenced to a Texas prison term is searched through the TDCJ inmate search. Federal prisoners use the BOP inmate locator, while immigration custody uses the ICE Online Detainee Locator System.
| Custody path | Who it covers | Where to search |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Bend county jail | Pretrial defendants, county sentences, some holds, and local USMS contract housing | Fort Bend Jail Public Information Inquiry |
| Texas state prison | Sentenced TDCJ prisoners, including people held at Jester III, Scott, or Vance | TDCJ inmate search |
| Federal prison | People in Bureau of Prisons custody | BOP inmate locator |
| Immigration custody | ICE detainees or people transferred to ICE custody | ICE ODLS |
| Custody notifications | Victim or family notification where the agency participates | VINELink |
Fort Bend County Detention Facilities
Fort Bend County's detention map is not one building. The county jail handles local booking and custody, while the three TDCJ units hold sentenced prisoners in the state system. Facility pages should be read with that distinction in mind because visitation, mail, money, and lookup rules change when a person moves from county custody to TDCJ.
- Fort Bend County Detention Facility - county jail in Richmond for adult local custody, booking, bond, county visitation, mail, commissary, and records requests.
- Beauford H. Jester III Unit - TDCJ state prison for male sentenced prisoners with medical, assisted-living, mental-health, and wheelchair-accommodated functions.
- Wayne Scott Unit - TDCJ male in-patient mental-health prison unit in the Jester complex.
- Carol S. Vance Unit - TDCJ male G1-G2 unit with faith-based programming and community work projects.
Fort Bend Jail Visits and Services
The Fort Bend jail uses video visitation through Securus/videovisitanywhere. On-site visits are scheduled 24 hours in advance, run Sunday through Friday, and are closed on Saturdays. From-home remote visits were reinstated January 16, 2025 until further notice and cost $6 per visit. Inmates are unavailable during meal times. The visitation page says visits are thirty (25) minutes in length, so the safer wording is that the posted page lists a 25-minute visit despite that odd phrasing.
Money and communications also use named local channels. Trust-fund money can be deposited by JPay kiosk in the lobby, JPay online, JPay phone, money order to Inmate Trust Fund, or iCare package purchase. Personal mail goes to the Securus Digital Mail Center, while legal mail, books, and publications follow separate jail-address rules. Each inmate receives two free calls after booking, and later phone or tablet access uses Securus.
Fort Bend Custody Terms
Several jail and court terms appear on Fort Bend County inmate population records. A short glossary helps separate custody status from court outcome.
- Booking
- The jail intake event that starts the person's local custody record.
- Classification
- A risk and needs review used for housing under Texas jail standards.
- Jail ID
- The public Fort Bend roster identifier beginning with P followed by digits.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency that can affect release.
- Paper ready
- A TCJS term for a person whose TDCJ transfer paperwork is complete.
- Expunction
- A Texas court process that can remove qualifying arrest records under chapter 55.
Fort Bend County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Fort Bend County inmate population?
The TCJS current population report listed 828 people in the Fort Bend County jail on June 1, 2026, against 1,770 rated beds. The related rate file used 839 as the adjusted current-rate population. Those are official snapshot figures, not annual booking totals.
How do I search the Fort Bend County inmate population?
Use the Fort Bend Jail Public Information Inquiry for current county jail custody. Search by first name, last name, or partial spelling, then click the linked name. If the person has been sentenced to state prison, search TDCJ instead.
Does the roster include mugshots?
The public detail card has an image area, but the inspected sample showed Image Unavailable. For booking-photo rules and request options, use the Fort Bend County jail mugshots page.
Where do court charges appear after arrest?
The jail roster can show booking and charge rows, but the formal court case is separate. Search the Fort Bend court portal or clerk channels for filed cases, charging instruments, hearing settings, dispositions, and sealed-record limits.
Is there a federal jail in Fort Bend County?
No active BOP or ICE detention facility was located inside Fort Bend County in official facility sources. Fort Bend jail pages do mention USMS contract housing, so a federal pretrial detainee may be physically held in the county jail before BOP custody.
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