Clearwater County Inmate Population Overview
Clearwater County has two official detention facilities that shape any inmate population count. The first is Clearwater County Jail, a sheriff-operated county jail inside the courthouse in Orofino. That jail is the local custody point for people committed by lawful authority, including people waiting on court action, people serving short local sentences, and limited contract or worker use when applicable. The second is Idaho Correctional Institution - Orofino, a state prison run by the Idaho Department of Correction. ICIO is physically in Clearwater County, but it is not part of the county jail roster and does not hold ordinary pretrial county jail detainees.
This split matters because the phrase Clearwater County inmate population can point to more than one count. A person arrested locally may be booked into the courthouse jail, listed through the sheriff app if the app has current custody data, or tracked through VINE notifications. A person sentenced to state prison moves into the IDOC population and must be searched through the state Resident/Client Search. Federal or immigration custody is separate again. Treating those systems as one roster creates bad results, especially when a person has just been arrested, bonded out, moved to prison, or held for another agency.
Clearwater County Inmate Population Statistics
The most reliable local jail capacity figure in the research is the county's PREA audit material. It identifies Clearwater County Jail as a county facility with a designated capacity of 31 beds and an operational maximum noted as 27, including one IDOC inmate worker. The same audit source reported 533 admissions in the prior 12 months at the time of the 2019 audit. Those figures are useful because they show the scale of the courthouse jail, but they are not a current daily population count.
Current Clearwater County Jail average daily population was not located in official online sources. That gap should not be filled with estimates. The county jail population can change fast as arrests, releases, bond decisions, court orders, and state transfers move people through custody. By contrast, IDOC publishes state-prison figures. The IDOC FY2025 incarcerated population report listed ICIO with 575 termers and 2 riders as of June 30, 2025, plus no parole violators. Those are state residents, not county jail detainees.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County Jail designated capacity | 31 beds | Clearwater County Jail PREA audit, 2019 |
| Clearwater County Jail operational maximum | 27 including one IDOC inmate worker | PREA audit detail, 2019 |
| Clearwater County Jail admissions | 533 admissions in prior 12 months | PREA audit, 2019 historical figure |
| ICIO design capacity | Up to 580 male residents | IDOC ICIO facility page |
| ICIO FY2025 population | 575 termers, 2 riders, 0 parole violators | IDOC FY2025 report, June 30, 2025 |
| Clearwater County 2020 population | 8,734 | U.S. Census QuickFacts |
Clearwater County Inmate Population Trends
The county jail research did not find a current jail dashboard, multi-year average daily population table, or official recent booking trend. That limits what can be said about Clearwater County Jail crowding. The 31-bed capacity and historical admissions figure show that the jail is a small local facility, not a large detention campus. A current population percentage should not be calculated from old point-in-time audit counts.
Trend data is stronger for the state prison population housed in Orofino. IDOC's FY2025 report gives both FY2024 and FY2025 comparisons for ICIO and statewide prison custody. ICIO increased from 567 termers and 5 riders in FY2024 to 575 termers and 2 riders in FY2025. Statewide, Idaho's total incarcerated population rose from 9,708 to 9,938, a 2.4 percent increase. Those state figures help explain the prison population in Clearwater County, but they do not replace county jail roster checks.
| Year | Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | ICIO: 567 termers, 5 riders | IDOC comparison count at June 30, 2024 |
| FY2025 | ICIO: 575 termers, 2 riders | IDOC count at June 30, 2025 |
| FY2024 | Idaho total incarcerated population: 9,708 | IDOC statewide comparison |
| FY2025 | Idaho total incarcerated population: 9,938 | IDOC reported a 2.4 percent increase |
Who Counts in Clearwater County Custody
Clearwater County Jail holds adults committed to the jail by lawful authority. The county-hosted jail handbook explains that jail staff do not choose who is arrested, who stays, or who is released. Release turns on bond, a judge's order, sentence completion, or another lawful release reason. The PREA audit materials describe adult male and female custody and note that juveniles are transported to juvenile detention in Lewiston, so ordinary public inmate search channels should not be used as a juvenile custody list.
ICIO holds a very different population. IDOC describes it as primarily medium custody, with protective-custody residents and Givens Hall as a work-camp unit next to the compound. That makes ICIO part of the state prison count. Someone sentenced from Clearwater County, Nez Perce County, Ada County, or another Idaho county may be housed there. The person's physical location in Orofino does not mean the person is a Clearwater County jail inmate.
- County jail
- Local custody for arrest processing, pretrial detention, short sentences, and local holds.
- State prison
- IDOC custody for sentenced residents and people under state correctional jurisdiction.
- Hold or detainer
- A request or order that can keep a person in custody for another agency after local bond or sentence issues are handled.
- Classification
- A jail or prison assessment used to set housing and supervision level.
Clearwater County Inmate Population Laws
Idaho law affects both access to jail records and what can be withheld. Idaho Code 20-612 requires the sheriff to receive people committed to jail by competent authority and requires the county to provide necessary food, clothing, bedding, and medical care. That statute explains why the county jail is the local custody point after a lawful commitment.
Public access runs through Idaho's public records law and court rules. Idaho Code 74-102 creates the right to inspect and copy public records, while Idaho Code 74-103 sets agency response duties and timing. Idaho Code 74-124 allows law-enforcement investigatory records to be withheld or redacted for active investigations, fair-trial concerns, privacy, safety, sources, and techniques, while still carving out certain basic arrest facts unless another law restricts them.
Key access rules: Jail custody data, booking records, and court filings do not all follow one rule. Sheriff records use Idaho public-records law. Court records use Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32. Death-in-custody reporting is collected through the Idaho State Police DCRA process.
Search Clearwater County Inmate Custody
Clearwater County does not publish a browser-accessible jail roster in the official web pages reviewed. The sheriff's page says the official Clearwater County Sheriff ID app includes a list of who is in custody. That app is the first official digital channel documented for current county custody. The sheriff page also links jail information, VINE, public-records request material, and the app announcement.
If the app does not answer the question, call the jail. The jail page gives 208-476-8903 as the direct jail phone and also uses that line for commissary deposits, bonds, housing payments, and jail administrator questions. A person arrested minutes ago may not appear in any digital list because local agency processing can occur before the person reaches the jail. The county-hosted handbook says DUI testing, interviews, forms, and reports may take hours before detention staff have a record.
- Check the Clearwater County Sheriff ID app for the advertised custody list.
- Use Clearwater County VINE or VINELink for custody-status notifications.
- Call Clearwater County Jail at 208-476-8903 when custody, bond, release timing, or a recent arrest needs confirmation.
- Use the sheriff's public-records request form for booking records or records not posted online.
- Search IDOC Resident/Client Search after sentencing or transfer to state custody.
The official sheriff page screenshot shows the county's custody-list app language and the sheriff office contact details. The screenshot comes from the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office page.
Use the app language as a channel pointer only. The live app fields, refresh timing, and photo display were not inspectable in the research environment.
Clearwater County Inmate Lookup Channels
Because no official browser roster was available to inspect, the Clearwater County inmate lookup field table is a channel table rather than a normal web-form inventory. That distinction is important. It prevents the page from inventing booking numbers, photo fields, charge filters, or release-date fields that were not verified from an official county screen.
| Field or Channel | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official browser roster | Not found | n/a | No official web roster was located on the sheriff or jail pages reviewed. |
| Sheriff app custody list | Mobile app feature | Unknown | Official page confirms a list of who is in custody, but live fields were not inspectable. |
| Jail phone | Phone channel | n/a | Call 208-476-8903 for custody, booking, bond, release, and jail questions. |
| VINE website or phone | Notification lookup | Depends on VINE search | County gives the VINE service number as 866-984-6343. |
What Clearwater County Inmate Records Show
A county jail custody record answers a different question than a court case or prison profile. For Clearwater County Jail, the official web material confirms custody-list access through the app, VINE status access, direct phone confirmation, and public-records request fallback. It does not expose an inspectable public profile showing mugshot, booking number, charge list, bond, housing, or release date.
IDOC and BOP do publish more visible locator fields for their own systems. IDOC search results can include IDOC number, name, birth year, status, and detail fields such as offense, sentencing county, case number, sentence status, mailing address, and parole-related dates. BOP locator results are for federal custody and may show register number, name, age, race, sex, release date, and location. Those records should not be treated as county jail bookings.
| Record Source | What It Can Confirm |
|---|---|
| Sheriff app | County advertises a current in-custody list, with fields not verified in browser research. |
| VINE / VINELink | Custody status and release, transfer, or escape notification registration. |
| Jail phone | Current custody, booking timing, bond, release timing, commissary, and jail administrator routing. |
| Public-records request | Booking records, incident reports, photo questions, or records not online, subject to redaction. |
| IDOC locator | State correctional status, facility, offense, sentence, and supervision information. |
Clearwater County Jail vs State Prison
A person may move through more than one custody system during a criminal case. The jail holds the person after arrest if the person is committed to local custody. Court events then decide bond, release, sentence, or transfer. If the person is sentenced to IDOC custody, the county jail channel may stop being the right place to look. That is when IDOC Resident/Client Search becomes the correct source.
| Clearwater County Jail | Idaho Correctional Institution - Orofino | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Clearwater County Sheriff's Office | Idaho Department of Correction |
| Population | Local adults in pretrial, short-sentence, hold, or local custody status | Sentenced male state residents, including medium and protective custody |
| Lookup | Sheriff app, VINE, jail phone, records request | IDOC Resident/Client Search |
| Capacity source | 31-bed designated capacity in 2019 PREA audit | Up to 580 male residents on IDOC facility page |
State and Federal Inmate Search
State prison, federal prison, and immigration custody each require a separate locator. The IDOC Resident/Client Search covers people on court probation or under IDOC jurisdiction, including incarcerated residents, probationers, and parolees. It can be searched by last name or IDOC number, with first name as an optional narrowing field.
Federal sentenced prisoners are searched through the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, which covers federal inmates from 1982 to present. ICE detainees are searched through ICE ODLS, using either A-Number and country of birth or exact biographical fields. U.S. Marshals pretrial custody does not have a public locator like BOP. A federal hold also does not make the person a county jail inmate unless the person is physically held in the jail under that authority.
The IDOC locator screenshot comes from the Resident/Client Search page, the state source for sentenced or supervised Idaho corrections records.
Use IDOC for sentenced state custody and the county channels for local jail custody. Mixing the two can hide a transfer.
Clearwater County Detention Facilities
The facility map for Clearwater County has two entries. The primary jail comes first because it handles local arrests and county jail custody. The state prison is listed separately because it is physically in Orofino but controlled by IDOC. No BOP, ICE, or U.S. Marshals-owned detention center was found physically in Clearwater County in official sources.
- Clearwater County Jail - sheriff-operated county jail for adults in local custody after arrest, court commitment, short sentence, or local hold.
- Idaho Correctional Institution - Orofino - IDOC state prison for sentenced male residents and work-camp residents.
Clearwater County Booking and Bond
Booking is the jail intake process. The county-hosted Idaho jail handbook says that after arrest a person may first be taken to a local police station for interviews, reports, forms, or DUI testing. That step can take hours. Once the person arrives at the jail, staff search for contraband, complete medical screening and booking paperwork, take fingerprints and a photograph, calculate bail when possible, and classify the person for housing.
Bond is separate from the roster. Clearwater County Jail accepts card transactions by phone or in person for commissary deposits, bonds and bond fees, and housing payments. The official jail page says card payments carry a nonrefundable 3 percent plus $1 Access Idaho fee, and the county keeps none of that provider fee. A hold, detainer, no-bond court order, or paperwork delay can still slow release after payment.
Clearwater County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Clearwater County inmate population?
The current daily county jail population was not located in official online sources. The best jail scale figure is the 31-bed designated capacity from the 2019 PREA audit. The state prison physically in Orofino is much larger: IDOC lists ICIO as designed for up to 580 male residents and reported 575 termers plus 2 riders in FY2025.
How do I search the Clearwater County inmate population?
For county jail custody, start with the Clearwater County Sheriff ID app because the sheriff page advertises a list of who is in custody. Use VINE for custody notifications and call the jail at 208-476-8903 for current confirmation. Use IDOC only for state correctional custody.
Does Clearwater County have a web jail roster?
No official browser-accessible jail roster was found on the sheriff or jail pages reviewed. The official web source points to the sheriff app for the custody list. That makes the jail phone and VINE especially important as fallback channels.
Are court charges the same as jail custody?
No. Jail custody shows where the person is held now. Court records show the charges filed by the prosecutor and the case status in court. Use court records after a jail arrest when the question is about filed charges or hearings.