Pierce County Inmate Population
The adult Pierce County inmate population is centered on the Pierce County Jail in downtown Tacoma. The Pierce County Sheriff's Office Corrections Bureau operates the jail, and the county facility listing identifies the Main Jail entrance at 910 Tacoma Avenue S and the New Jail entrance at 701 Nollmeyer Lane. That adult jail population includes pretrial detainees, people serving short local sentences, felony holds pending Superior Court, misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases, warrants, and holds for other agencies.
The county's own criminal-justice data story and datasets are the best source for current population context. Dataset 3a37-ahuv is named "Criminal Justice - Jail Average Daily Population and Pretrial Caseload" and is sourced from LINX, with pretrial data from the Clerk of the Superior Court. Dataset 4yhg-u9a6 is named "Criminal Justice - Jail Booking Data" and covers bookings admitted into Pierce County Corrections starting in January 2010. The research notes warn against drawing broad causal conclusions between criminal-justice stages because collection and publication timing differ.
Pierce County Jail Population Statistics
The official county data reported a Pierce County Jail average daily population of 832 for 2024, with annual bookings of 10,968 and an average 2024 booking length of stay of 27.30 days. Current official adult-jail rated capacity was not located on a current county page. The research therefore uses county ADP and booking data for population size and treats capacity references carefully unless tied to a current official source.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Pierce County Jail average daily population | 832 | Pierce County dataset 3a37-ahuv, 2024 year-end row |
| Pretrial average daily caseload | 1,625 | Pierce County dataset 3a37-ahuv, 2024 |
| Annual bookings admitted to Pierce County Corrections | 10,968 | Pierce County dataset 4yhg-u9a6, 2024 |
| Average length of stay for 2024 bookings | 27.30 days | Pierce County dataset 4yhg-u9a6 aggregate query, 2024 |
| Washington Corrections Center for Women capacity | 738 | WADOC WCCW facility page |
| Puyallup City Jail capacity | 51 | Puyallup official jail page |
Pierce County Inmate Population Trends
Pierce County jail ADP fell sharply during 2020 and 2021, then increased each year through 2024. Even with that rebound, the 2024 ADP remained below the 2010-2017 range above 1,200. Bookings followed a similar pattern: a steep drop in 2020 and 2021, then growth in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Average length of stay moved in the opposite direction during the low-booking years, peaking in 2022 before dropping in 2024.
| Year | Jail ADP | Pretrial ADP/Caseload | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,077 | 326 | Last pre-COVID year in county trend excerpt. |
| 2020 | 687 | 401 | Major COVID-era ADP drop. |
| 2021 | 598 | 311 | Lowest listed jail ADP in 2010-2024 trend. |
| 2022 | 780 | 586 | Post-2021 rebound. |
| 2023 | 816 | 1,266 | ADP rose and pretrial caseload increased. |
| 2024 | 832 | 1,625 | Highest ADP since 2019, still below earlier decade levels. |
The booking trend adds another view of the Pierce County inmate population. The county dataset counted 18,331 bookings in 2019, 8,551 in 2020, 6,755 in 2021, 8,173 in 2022, 9,150 in 2023, and 10,968 in 2024. Average length of stay moved from 21.73 days in 2019 to 38.76 days in 2022, then down to 27.30 days in 2024.
Pierce County Booking Composition
The 2024 Pierce County booking dataset gives a local breakdown of bookings by sex, race category, charge level, and warrant category. These are booking counts, not a census of people held on a single day, so they should be read as the flow into Pierce County Corrections during the year. The dataset counted 7,454 male bookings, 2,430 female bookings, and 1,084 unknown-gender bookings.
| Category | 2024 Count |
|---|---|
| Felony charge level | 5,946 |
| Misdemeanor charge level | 2,596 |
| Gross misdemeanor charge level | 2,397 |
| With warrant category | 4,274 |
| Without warrant category | 6,694 |
| White race category | 5,141 |
| Black race category | 2,547 |
| Hispanic race category | 1,178 |
Pierce County Inmate Record Laws
Washington law separates jail-register facts, broader inmate files, court records, and agency public records. That distinction matters for the Pierce County inmate population because ADP and booking data can be public while some inmate records and booking photographs remain limited. Court records after arrest are governed by court rules, not only by the Public Records Act.
Key Statutes:
RCW 42.56 - Washington's Public Records Act makes identifiable public records available unless an exemption applies.
RCW 42.56.080 - Agencies must provide facilities for inspection and copying of identifiable public records subject to rules and exemptions.
RCW 70.48.100 - The jail register is open, while other inmate records and booking photos have confidentiality limits.
RCW 70.48.510 - Local jails must conduct unexpected fatality reviews and disclose or post reports with redactions.
Washington GR 31 - Court records have broad access, but court rules control the record, not the ordinary agency request path.
Pierce County State Prison Population
Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor is the state prison physically in Pierce County. WADOC lists the facility's capacity as 738 incarcerated individuals and describes custody levels as minimum, medium, and close. It is not part of the Pierce County jail roster. A woman arrested in Pierce County may appear in the county jail system before conviction or sentencing, but after a prison sentence and DOC transfer, the correct lookup path is WADOC Incarcerated Search.
WCCW also has a different visiting and program structure from the county jail. WADOC uses approved prison visits, Securus video visits, facility alerts, and unit schedules. County jail rules for mail, commissary, and release do not apply once custody moves to DOC.
Federal and immigration custody add two more Pierce County search paths. Research did not find a BOP prison physically in Pierce County, so federal sentenced prisoners should be searched through the national BOP locator. Northwest ICE Processing Center is in Tacoma, but ICE custody is civil immigration detention and is searched through ICE ODLS, not LINX, Puyallup BookingFind, or WADOC. A person can appear in a county jail while held locally on a detainer, then disappear from that roster after transfer to ICE custody.
Search Pierce County Inmate Population
The search process should track the custody type. For current adult county jail custody, start with the Pierce LINX jail roster. If the page does not load because of the verification gate, call custody at (253) 798-4590 or jail administration at (253) 798-4668. If the arrest was a Puyallup municipal matter, search Puyallup separately. If the person was sentenced to prison, use WADOC.
- Search LINX for adult Pierce County Jail custody.
- Call the jail custody line if the roster fails or current status is urgent.
- Search Puyallup BookingFind for Puyallup City Jail custody.
- Search WADOC by DOC number or name for sentenced state prisoners.
- Use BOP for federal sentenced custody and ICE ODLS for immigration detention.
- Use Pierce County public records and South Sound 911 for older or non-roster records.
Pierce County Current Inmate Lookup
Research confirmed the official Pierce roster URL but did not verify live profile fields because the page reached a recaptcha/loading gate. That means the roster entry point is documented, while specific profile fields are not. In contrast, Puyallup's booking search fields were exposed in official/search text and WADOC's incarcerated search fields were visible.
| System | Search Fields | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pierce LINX roster | Not visible before gate | Official county roster entry point; use a normal browser session. |
| Puyallup BookingFind | Last name, first name, offender status, sex, age | Search can run with any combination or no criteria for all current inmates. |
| WADOC Incarcerated Search | DOC number, first name, last name | Special characters other than hyphens and apostrophes cannot be used. |
Pierce County Inmate Record Data
Pierce County's jail booking dataset gives a detailed field inventory for the records behind population reporting. It includes booking date, release date, booking ID, custody status, release reason, warrant category, sex, height, charge level, race, arresting agency, charge class, filed charge class, bail amount, amended bail amount, length of stay, warrant flags, charge count, age, and whether the arresting agency was the Pierce County Sheriff or another agency.
- Booking
- The jail intake event after arrest, surrender, or court commitment.
- Charge level
- The broad class of the case, such as felony, misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or infraction.
- Detainer
- A hold or notice from another agency that can affect release or transfer.
- PR release
- Personal-recognizance release based on conditions and a promise to appear.
- DOC
- Washington Department of Corrections, the state prison system.
Pierce County Jail vs Prison
County jail and state prison answer different custody questions. Pierce County Jail is for pretrial detention, short local sentences, warrants, felony holds, and people waiting for court movement. WADOC is for state-sentenced custody after transfer. A county jail booking can lead to prison later, but the roster changes when custody changes.
| Point | County Jail | State Prison |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Pierce facility | Pierce County Jail | Washington Corrections Center for Women |
| Operator | Pierce County Sheriff's Office Corrections Bureau | Washington State Department of Corrections |
| Search tool | LINX roster or custody line | WADOC Incarcerated Search |
| Typical status | Pretrial, short sentence, warrant, hold | Sentenced state-prison custody |
Pierce County Detention Facilities
The Pierce County inmate population is not one building or one roster. These facilities form the local map for adult jail, municipal jail, juvenile detention, state prison, and immigration detention.
- Pierce County Jail - adult pretrial detainees, local sentences, warrants, felony holds, and other county jail custody.
- Puyallup City Jail - municipal misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor custody from Puyallup and local-region agencies.
- Remann Hall / Pierce County Juvenile Court Detention - court-mandated secure juvenile detention, not the adult roster.
- Washington Corrections Center for Women - WADOC state-prison custody for sentenced women.
- Northwest ICE Processing Center - civil immigration detention searched through ICE ODLS.
Pierce County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Pierce County inmate population?
The official county dataset reported a 2024 Pierce County Jail average daily population of 832. That number is for Pierce County Corrections ADP, not every state, city, federal, juvenile, or immigration facility in the county.
How do I search the Pierce County inmate population?
Start with the LINX jail roster for adult county jail custody. If the person is not there, check Puyallup BookingFind, WADOC, BOP, ICE ODLS, or the records request route based on custody type.
Are Pierce County booking photos public?
Washington law makes the jail register public, but RCW 70.48.100 limits broader inmate records and booking-photo release. The Pierce LINX roster was gated during research, so public mugshot display was not verified.