Search the Cook County Inmate Population

Cook County Inmate Population Overview

The Cook County inmate population is centered on the Cook County Jail at the Law Enforcement Center in Grand Marais. That facility is not a large, full-service county jail. County and Minnesota Department of Corrections materials describe it as a 72-hour holding facility with a work-release and Huber role. It can house adult men and women, but juveniles are not housed there. Long-term pretrial detainees and local sentenced inmates who are not eligible for work release may be housed in other counties, then transported back to Cook County or brought to court by Zoom.

This structure makes Cook County different from many larger Minnesota counties. A current roster record may answer who was arrested, what agency made the arrest, what charge or hold is listed, and where the person is now housed. It may also show that a Cook County case is physically being held at Carlton County Jail or that a Lake County hold is involved. Once a person is sentenced to the Commissioner of Corrections, the county roster is no longer the right lookup source. The Minnesota DOC Locator becomes the main search channel for sentenced state custody.

Cook County Inmate Population Statistics

The best sourced Cook County inmate population figures come from the 2024 MNDOC inspection, the FY25 MNDOC performance report, the 2024 regional jail consolidation study, and the public roster PDF captured in June 2026. Together, those sources show a very small local jail count. The FY25 report lists an average daily population of 0.35 for the Class I/72-hour hold category, while the 2024 inspection lists 15 approved secure coed beds and 5.10 operational capacity.

Cook County Inmate Population Trends

The regional jail study shows that the Cook County inmate population stayed below one person on average in each captured annual ADP year. That does not mean no one was arrested. It means the jail count is low because the facility is a short-term hold and work-release site, and many longer custody needs are routed to other counties or later to state DOC custody. The same study noted that annual bookings appeared in low single digits to low teens by month for much of 2020 through 2024, but the research did not capture a clean annual bookings table.

Cook County Jail Custody Makeup

The 2024 study gives the clearest breakdown for the Cook County inmate population. It reported that 91.4 percent of the 2024 jail ADP was pretrial and 8.6 percent was held for another agency, with no sentenced or unknown/other share captured in that summary. Offense categories were led by DUI at 35.9 percent, offenses against people at 26.8 percent, violent offenses at 15.8 percent, unknown at 9.5 percent, theft or fraud at 7.1 percent, and violation of probation at 5.0 percent. Those figures describe the local jail population, not the full county court caseload.

• Pretrial custody: most captured ADP in 2024 was listed as pretrial, matching the short-term jail role.
• Other-agency holds: 8.6 percent of the 2024 ADP was held for another agency.
• Age examples: the June 2026 roster showed two adults, ages 58 and 33.
• Juvenile limits: the jail does not house juveniles, and the 2024 inspection audit captured no juveniles in the review period.

Race and sex percentages in the regional study should be read with care because Cook County's count is very small. The captured 2024 ADP race shares included American Indian or Alaska Native at 40.4 percent and White at 38.7 percent, with smaller Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and unknown segments. The 2024 gender ADP split was 16.9 percent female and 83.1 percent male. With such small counts, one or two bookings can move percentages sharply.

Cook County Jail Capacity

Cook County's capacity picture is less about overcrowding and more about facility type. The MNDOC inspection lists 15 approved secure coed beds, while the county describes five individual holding cells plus a 10-bed Work Release/Huber cell. The FY25 average daily population was far below those figures. That helps explain why the FY25 per diem based on ADP was high, $3,721.42, while the per diem based on capacity was $86.83. Low use in a small facility can make per-person costs look extreme.

No current official source in the research identified a Cook County jail overcrowding lawsuit, consent decree, or DOJ order. Recent county facilities work focused on the Law Enforcement Center addition and remodeling project, safety, evidence storage, and a sallyport large enough for ambulance transport. Those projects should not be treated as proof of a new jail population limit unless a later official capacity document says so.

Laws Governing Cook County Inmate Records

Minnesota law is the access framework behind the Cook County inmate population, the jail roster, and public-data requests. These laws do not make every record public in full. They set the default rules, then protect active investigative data, juvenile information, protected identities, some victim and witness data, and court records that are not open for remote access.

Search Cook County Jail Records

The official local route is the Cook County Jail Roster page. During research, that page used a Document Center listing for the current roster PDF rather than a searchable name database. The roster page can be useful even without a name-search box because the public PDF lists custody fields in one place. Check the current PDF, then read the "Currently Housed at" field before assuming the person is inside the Grand Marais jail.

The county's roster document center is shown in the official source capture below. It is the proper starting point for current Cook County jail roster checks.

The Cook County roster document page lists the current jail roster PDF rather than a live searchable inmate form.

The screenshot matters because users looking for a search box may miss that the roster is opened as a document.

1. Open the official jail roster page and select the current Cook County Jail roster PDF.
2. Read the static PDF fields, including name, age, arresting agency, arrest date, charge or hold, bail, and housing.
3. Use the housing field to see whether the person is at Cook County Jail, Carlton County Jail, Lake County Jail, or another agency.
4. Call the sheriff or jail at 218-387-3030 if the roster is unclear, stale, or missing a recent arrest.
5. Check DOC, MCRO, BOP, ICE, or VINE when the person may have moved outside local jail custody.

Current Cook County Inmate Lookup

A current Cook County inmate lookup uses a roster document rather than a vendor search form. The Document Center search field searches county documents, not inmate names. The captured roster PDF was one page and showed two total records. It included a "Front Mugshot" column, name, age, arresting agency, arrest date/time, hold reason or charges, bail, and current housing. The exact record count can change when the county posts a new PDF.

For released or older records, use the Cook County Public Data Request Form or contact sheriff records. Inspection of public data is free. Copies may be charged when costs exceed $10, and the county's policy and fee schedule list paper-copy and sheriff-report charges. Reports with pending charges must be obtained through the prosecuting attorney, not by bypassing the court process.

Cook County Inmate Record Fields

The Cook County inmate record shown on the public roster is compact. It is not a full jail-management profile, and it does not provide a click-through page, release history, court dates, booking number, physical description, housing pod, or detailed bond conditions. It does give enough information to confirm a current custody or hold listing and decide the next lookup channel.

Cook County Jail vs State Prison

Searches often fail because the wrong system is used. The Cook County jail roster covers local jail custody and holds. It does not replace MCRO for court cases, the BCA for public conviction history, the DOC locator for sentenced state custody, or federal and immigration locators. A person can move from arrest to booking, then to first appearance, outside-county housing, sentencing, DOC intake, supervised release, or another agency's hold.

Cook County Detention Facilities

The Cook County inmate population map includes the primary local jail plus regional or outside-county facilities that can matter when the roster says a person is housed elsewhere. The list below keeps the Cook-owned facility separate from partner or related facilities.

• Cook County Jail - primary 72-hour holding and work-release/Huber facility in Grand Marais.
• Northeast Regional Corrections Center (NERCC) - specialized regional treatment and vocational placement center, not Cook's primary detention facility.
• Carlton County Jail - outside-county jail relevant because Cook's roster showed a Cook boarder housed there.
• Lake County Jail - outside-county jail and portal relevant when a Cook-related hold points to Lake County.

Cook County Custody Terms

Short jail stays create many status words. These terms help sort a current roster entry from a court case or prison record.

Booking

The intake record created after arrest or commitment, usually with identification, photo, and charge or hold data.

Huber or work release

A local sentence or custody arrangement that can allow approved work or service outside confinement.

Detainer

A request or hold from another agency, county, state, federal, or immigration authority.

Remand

A court order returning a person to custody.

DOC

The Minnesota Department of Corrections, the state system for people committed to the Commissioner of Corrections.

Cook County Inmate Population FAQ