Trempealeau County Inmate Population
The Trempealeau County inmate population is centered on one local detention facility: the Trempealeau County Jail in Whitehall, operated by the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office. The jail holds adults arrested by sheriff's deputies, city or village police, and other local agencies. It also holds people serving local jail sentences, people on probation or extended-supervision holds, Huber or work-release candidates, and people with immigration hold classifications when they are booked locally. No separate Wisconsin DOC prison, federal BOP prison, ICE detention center, or city jail with its own public roster was found inside the county in the official sources reviewed.
That simple facility map does not mean the Trempealeau County inmate population is just a head count of people sleeping in one building on one night. The Sheriff's Office 2023 Yearly Report separates in-county average daily population, electronic monitoring, and out-of-county boarding. Those categories matter because people can remain tied to a Trempealeau County jail case while being monitored outside the building or boarded in another county jail. A current custody search should start with the official county locator, while the population count should be read with those local operating categories in mind.
Trempealeau County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest local data source is the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office 2023 Yearly Report. It reports bookings, sex counts, pretrial and sentenced categories, probation holds, INS holds, average daily population, electronic monitoring, and out-of-county boarding. For capacity, the county justice-center materials state that the older facility had a maximum rated capacity of 30 adult detainees and was not approved for juveniles. Project material from a construction source describes a 78-bed jail in the government-center project, but the conservative current public capacity figure is the county-published 30-adult-detainee figure.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Total bookings | 736 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Male bookings | 569 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Female bookings | 167 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Pretrial bookings | 622 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Sentenced bookings | 91 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Probation holds | 113 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| INS holds | 19 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| In-county ADP | 24.02 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Electronic monitoring ADP | 2.40 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Out-of-county ADP | 12.89 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Total ADP | 36.82 | Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report |
| Older jail rated capacity | 30 adult detainees | Trempealeau County justice-center capacity page, reviewed July 3, 2026 |
Trempealeau County Jail Trends
The trend data shows why the Trempealeau County inmate population cannot be judged by the in-building number alone. In 2023, the in-county ADP of 24.02 was below the 30-adult-detainee capacity cited in county project materials. The total ADP was 36.82 once electronic monitoring and out-of-county boarding were included. The same report listed $168,075 in out-of-county prisoner boarding expense for 2023. That local cost point supports the county's larger justice-center discussion about capacity, classification, and jail operations.
The 2020 line is also important. The Sheriff's report table shows the highest total ADP in this four-year set in 2020, while justice-center materials describe COVID-era strain and overflow limits. Later years show lower total ADP than 2020, but out-of-county boarding rose again in 2023. The result is a small rural jail system with pressure that changes by court flow, classification needs, release options, boarding availability, and use of electronic monitoring.
| Year | Total bookings | In-county ADP | Electronic monitor ADP | Out-of-county ADP | Total ADP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 736 | 24.02 | 2.40 | 12.89 | 36.82 | Out-of-county boarding expense was $168,075. |
| 2022 | 690 | 20.30 | 1.66 | 6.58 | 30.74 | Lower boarding expense and lower total ADP than 2023. |
| 2021 | 760 | 18.94 | 3.17 | 7.08 | 29.40 | Highest bookings in the four-year table. |
| 2020 | 652 | 17.25 | 1.83 | 14.33 | 42.40 | Highest total ADP in the report table. |
Trempealeau County Jail Capacity
Capacity in Trempealeau County is tied to classification. The county justice-center capacity page explains that the older jail could be functionally full below its raw bed count because detainees must be separated by sex, juvenile status, medical or mental-health needs, misdemeanor or felony status, and other safety factors. That means a jail with empty beds can still lack the right type of available housing. A count of 20 people can create full-capacity strain if the facility cannot separate people in the way Wisconsin jail rules and local safety needs require.
The county capacity page is a useful visual source for that point.
That capacity context explains why out-of-county boarding appears in the Sheriff's population statistics instead of being a side issue. It is part of how the county manages the jail population when the Whitehall facility cannot safely house everyone locally.
The same classification logic appears in the jail handbook. Housing can depend on current charges, criminal history, gender, behavior, medical and mental-health conditions, safety concerns, and legal status. A person may be booked at the jail, moved into general population only after intake steps are complete, transferred to another county jail, screened for electronic monitoring, or later moved to state DOC custody after sentencing.
Population terms:
- ADP
- Average daily population, or the average number of people counted over time.
- Classification
- The jail's housing and security decision based on custody, safety, health, and legal factors.
- Hold
- A legal or agency reason that can keep a person in custody.
- Huber or work release
- A court-granted, sheriff-administered release privilege for eligible sentenced inmates.
Trempealeau County Inmate Laws
Wisconsin law shapes how the Trempealeau County inmate population is recorded, released, limited, or withheld. Public access starts with state public-records law, but it is not unlimited. Juvenile records, medical information, victim data, sealed material, investigation-sensitive records, and other restricted information may be withheld or require proof of legal authority. The local sheriff records page also says requests are filled as soon as practicable and without delay, and it notes that no search fee is charged unless actual, necessary, direct search costs exceed $50.
Key Wisconsin rules:
Wis. Stat. 19.31 states Wisconsin's public-records policy and favors broad public information about government acts.
Wis. Stat. 19.35 gives requesters the right to inspect or copy records, subject to statutory and common-law limits.
Wis. Stat. 111.335 is cited by the county locator and warns about restrictions on employment discrimination based on arrest or conviction records.
Wis. Admin. Code DOC 350 sets minimum standards for Wisconsin jails and houses of correction.
Wis. Stat. 302.425 addresses county jail prisoner transfer and boarding responsibility, which matters in Trempealeau County's out-of-county ADP data.
Search Trempealeau County Inmates
The primary current-custody channel is the Trempealeau County Inmate Locator. The county landing page calls the roster a public service and warns that the Sheriff's Office does not warrant accuracy or accept responsibility for errors, omissions, or discrepancies. It also says listed people are innocent until proven guilty and that charge information should be checked through Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. Use the roster for current jail custody, then use the court, records, VINE, DOC, BOP, or ICE tools when the roster does not answer the custody question.
The active locator search interface shows the county's actual search fields.
The interface supports a narrow search, but a broad last-name search is often best when the spelling, first name, or date of birth is uncertain.
- Open the county locator from the Sheriff's inmate-locator landing page or go directly to the active roster.
- Enter the last name first. Add first name, gender, or birth year only when the result set is too broad.
- Use Search to run the query, then select a result to open the inmate details pane.
- Review custody date, booking status, bail or fine amount, facility, court date, charge rows, and hold rows when those fields are populated.
- If the person does not appear, clear the form and search again by fewer fields before using the jail phone, VINE, WCCA, DOC, BOP, or ICE channels.
Trempealeau County Roster Lookup
The Trempealeau County roster is a search tool, not a complete court file. It is designed to help locate a current jail inmate and open a profile. The rendered locator shows an ASP.NET/Infragistics grid, language links for English, Spanish, French, and German, and a detail pane that can display an inmate image, name, demographic fields, custody status, bail or fine, court date, charges, and holds. For formal charges and case status, the county locator points readers to WCCA because prosecutor-filed charges can differ from arrest or booking labels.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options / Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | Unspecified | Best first search field when spelling is known. |
| First Name | Text | Unspecified | Useful for common last names. |
| Gender | Text or dropdown not confirmed from static HTML | Unspecified | Displayed as a search label; option list was not visible in static HTML. |
| DOB (yyyy) | Text | Unspecified | Four-digit birth year; static input shows max length 4. |
| Search | Submit button | Not applicable | Runs the search. |
| Clear | Submit button | Not applicable | Clears the search fields. |
For a deeper field-by-field custody record, the Trempealeau County jail inmate records page follows the profile fields in more detail.
Trempealeau County Access Channels
A missing roster result does not prove the person is not in custody. A new booking may not be visible yet. The person may have been released, boarded in another county, held under a different legal name, moved into Wisconsin DOC custody after sentencing, detained in a federal or immigration system, or listed only in a court or sheriff record. Trempealeau County research supports a full fallback chain rather than one roster search.
- County locator: search the active Trempealeau County Inmate Locator for current jail custody.
- Jail phone: call Trempealeau County Jail at 715-538-2311 ext. 452 for custody questions the roster does not answer.
- In person: visit the Sheriff's Office at 18600 Hobson Street, Whitehall, during Monday through Friday business hours, excluding holidays.
- Sheriff records request: request booking records, incident reports, or non-roster material through the Sheriff's records process by form, telephone, or in person.
- VINE: use Wisconsin VINE or 1-888-WI-4-VINE for custody or release notifications.
- WCCA: use Wisconsin Circuit Court Access for filed court charges and case events after arrest.
- DOC, BOP, and ICE: use Wisconsin DOC Locator, BOP inmate locator, or ICE Online Detainee Locator when custody is no longer a county-jail matter.
Older booking material usually requires the sheriff records process. The Sheriff's records page asks requesters to be specific and include a case number if known, plus names, dates, times, and locations. Completed requests can be mailed, emailed, or picked up in person.
Trempealeau County Jail vs DOC
The county jail roster and the Wisconsin DOC Locator cover different populations. Trempealeau County Jail is the local pretrial and short-sentence facility. Wisconsin DOC covers convicted offenders sentenced to incarceration, supervision, or both with DOC. DOC's general information states that its locator does not provide information on offenders sentenced only to county jail. For a person moving from arrest to conviction, the correct search tool can change over time.
| Question | Trempealeau County Jail | Wisconsin DOC |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered? | Adults booked or held locally before trial, serving local jail time, on holds, or screened for Huber/electronic monitoring. | Convicted offenders sentenced to DOC incarceration, supervision, or both. |
| Primary lookup | Trempealeau County Inmate Locator and jail phone line. | Wisconsin DOC Locator after terms acceptance. |
| What it does not cover | State prison placement after DOC transfer, federal sentenced custody, or ICE detention outside the county roster. | County-jail-only sentences, city or county holds, and county booking-only records. |
| Best charge source | Roster charge rows may help, but WCCA is the formal case source. | DOC profile data is separate from the county arrest and booking record. |
The Wisconsin DOC Locator welcome page is the state search source for DOC custody.
Use that state locator only after the custody question has moved beyond Trempealeau County Jail or when supervision status is the issue.
Trempealeau County Detention Facilities
The facility map for Trempealeau County has one local detention facility. Municipal police departments in Arcadia, Blair, Galesville, Independence, Osseo, Whitehall, Ettrick, Pigeon Falls, Strum, and Trempealeau provide local law-enforcement service, but no official separate municipal jail roster was located. Local arrests route to the county jail or, when needed, to another county jail under boarding arrangements.
- Trempealeau County Jail - county jail for adult pretrial detainees, local sentenced inmates, probation holds, state or extended-supervision sanction holds, INS hold classifications when locally booked, and Huber or electronic monitoring candidates.
Trempealeau County Inmate FAQ
How large is the Trempealeau County inmate population? The Sheriff's 2023 Yearly Report listed 24.02 in-county ADP, 2.40 electronic monitoring ADP, 12.89 out-of-county ADP, and 36.82 total ADP. The same report listed 736 total bookings for 2023.
Why can the jail feel full below its rated capacity? Classification can make the usable housing count smaller than the raw bed count. The county capacity page explains that separation needs for sex, juvenile status, medical or mental-health issues, charge level, and other factors can create practical crowding even when the head count is below 30.
Where is the first place to search for a current inmate? Start with the Trempealeau County Inmate Locator. If the roster does not return the person, search fewer fields, call the jail, check VINE, and search WCCA for court activity.
Can released or past inmates be found online? The county materials reviewed do not state a public retention period for released roster entries. Older booking records, incident records, or booking photos may require a Sheriff's records request.
Does WCCA replace the jail roster? No. WCCA is for court cases and filed charges. The jail roster is for current county custody, while WCCA helps confirm the court record after the arrest.
When should DOC, BOP, or ICE be used? Use Wisconsin DOC for state-sentenced or supervised offenders, BOP for sentenced federal inmates, and ICE Online Detainee Locator for immigration detainees. Those systems do not replace the Trempealeau County Jail roster for local custody.