The Lemhi County Inmate Population
The Lemhi County inmate population is centered on one local detention facility, the Lemhi County Jail, also called the Lemhi County Detention Facility in state directory sources. It is a sheriff-operated county jail in Salmon, not a regional jail, state prison, federal prison, or ICE detention center. The official facility sweep found no separate work-release annex, city jail, state prison, federal BOP prison, ICE facility, or state juvenile correctional center inside Lemhi County.
The county jail count changes through arrests, releases, bond decisions, court orders, work-release status, and transfer to another agency. People booked in Lemhi County may be held before trial, held on a short local sentence, held during intake or release paperwork, or moved after sentencing. Once a person enters Idaho Department of Correction jurisdiction, the IDOC locator becomes the better search tool. Federal and immigration custody use separate systems.
The official sheriff page is the best local source for the jail description. It states that the jail is an adult and juvenile facility, houses males and females, and has a total capacity of 26 beds.
That local source should be used with the statewide directory and historical BJS/Vera data rather than blended into one unsourced figure.
Lemhi County Inmate Population Statistics
The most useful Lemhi County inmate population figures come from three source types. The county sheriff gives the local bed statement. The Idaho Sheriffs' Association jail directory gives a rated-capacity and average-daily-population snapshot. Vera's BJS-derived county file gives historical jail population, admissions, demographic, and rate figures through 2019. The figures do not match perfectly, so each row should be read with its source.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lemhi County Jail capacity | 26 beds | Lemhi County Sheriff's Office, accessed June 8, 2026 |
| Rated capacity | 19 beds | Idaho Sheriffs' Association directory, accessed June 8, 2026 |
| Average daily population | 12 | Idaho Sheriffs' Association directory, accessed June 8, 2026 |
| Jail population | 12 | Vera/BJS county CSV, 2019 |
| Total admissions/bookings | 77 | Vera/BJS county CSV, 2019 |
| Jail population rate | 274.41 per 100,000 residents age 15-64 | Vera/BJS county CSV, 2019 |
| County population estimate | 8,474 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, 2025 estimate |
The Idaho Sheriffs' Association jail directory provides the 19 rated-capacity and 12 ADP figures for Lemhi County Detention Facility.
Because Lemhi is a small jail, a change of a few people can make a visible difference in rates and trend lines.
Lemhi County Jail Population Trends
The Vera/BJS-derived trend slice shows a small jail count from 2015 through 2019. The total jail population ranged from 10 to 15 in those rows, while admissions ranged from 77 to 103.5. Those fractional admission and capacity values reflect the source's estimation or averaging method, not a literal half booking. The 2019 row also reported 8 people in pretrial custody and 4 sentenced custody.
| Year | Total Jail Population | Admissions / Bookings | Capacity in Vera File |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 10 | 88 | 20 |
| 2016 | 11 | 83.75 | 20.5 |
| 2017 | 15 | 99 | 21 |
| 2018 | 11 | 103.5 | 21.5 |
| 2019 | 12 | 77 | 22 |
No official Lemhi County daily jail population dashboard or annual local booking report was found. Current readers should treat the trend table as historical context and use the Sheriff's Office or public-records process for current local records.
Lemhi County Jail Capacity
Capacity is the clearest place where sources differ. The county's own sheriff page says 26 beds. The Idaho Sheriffs' Association directory lists 19 rated capacity and 12 average daily population. Vera's 2019 file lists 22 rated capacity and 12 total jail population. Those numbers should not be averaged. The safest reading is that the county page is the current local bed statement, while the directory and Vera file are secondary population-reporting sources.
The available sources do not show a current Lemhi jail overcrowding order, consent decree, closure notice, new-jail construction page, or emergency release plan. The ISA and Vera population figures both show 12 people against capacity figures that are higher than 12. That supports a cautious statement that the official sources reviewed did not document overcrowding in those snapshots.
Who Is Held in Lemhi County Jail
The official sheriff page says the jail holds adults and juveniles, males and females. The research also shows that detention deputies perform booking, fingerprinting, booking photography, physical search, documents, data entry, housing assignment, clothing issuance, release paperwork, census counts, mail and commissary monitoring, phone and visitation monitoring, and work-release duties. Those details come from the county detention deputy job description and are useful because Lemhi does not publish a separate public jail handbook.
- Pretrial detainees: people held after arrest while court proceedings begin.
- Local sentenced detainees: people serving short local jail sentences or awaiting transfer.
- Juvenile and adult custody: the sheriff page states both are housed, but public detail is limited.
- Work release: staff administer work release, though eligibility rules were not published.
- Other-agency status: Vera 2019 reported 2 held from state prison authority and 1 from another jail.
Note: County demographics should not be used as inmate demographics; the jail-specific Vera row is the source for custody demographics.
Laws Governing Lemhi Inmate Records
Idaho public-records law is the route for jail and booking records that are not posted online. It does not make every record public in every form. Active investigations, juvenile records, sealed court files, privacy limits, and safety concerns can affect release. Court records use a separate court-access rule, and state criminal-history records use Idaho State Police rules.
Key access rules:
Idaho Code § 74-102 gives the general right to inspect and copy public records unless another statute limits access.
Idaho Code § 74-103 governs public-record response handling and fees.
Idaho Code § 74-124 addresses law-enforcement investigatory records and basic arrest information.
Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32 controls public access to Idaho court records, sealed matters, warrants, juvenile cases, and confidential court data.
Search Lemhi County Inmates
No official Lemhi County online jail roster, daily booking sheet, inmate-search page, mugshot gallery, or release list was found on the official county or sheriff pages during the June 8, 2026 research. The Sheriff's Office directory gives the local phone and office details, while the sheriff useful-links page shows resources such as PREA awareness and CodeRED, not a jail roster. A search-box-first approach would be misleading for Lemhi because there is no county-hosted public roster to search.
- Call the Sheriff's Office non-emergency or jail information number to ask about current local custody.
- Have the person's full name, date of birth if known, approximate arrest date, and arresting agency if known.
- Use the Lemhi public-records request form for a booking record, booking photo, arrest report, or historical jail record.
- Search iCourt for filed charges, hearings, and case status after the arrest reaches court.
- Use IDOC, BOP, or ICE only when the person may be in state prison, federal custody, or immigration detention.
| Reader's Problem | First Channel | Backup Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Booked today in Lemhi County | Call 208-756-8980 | Written public-records request |
| Booking photo | Confirm custody by jail phone | Public-records request |
| Formal charges | iCourt Smart Search | Lemhi District Court Clerk |
| Sentenced Idaho prison custody | IDOC Resident/Client Search | IDOC records request |
| Custody-change notification | VINELink Idaho | Jail phone |
Lemhi County Inmate Record Fields
Because there is no official public Lemhi jail profile to inspect, no page should claim that a Lemhi roster entry displays a mugshot, booking number, bond, housing unit, or court date. The county job description does confirm that certain booking and release records are created or handled internally. Those records may be requested in writing, subject to Idaho law.
| Field or Item | Lemhi Finding |
|---|---|
| Booking photo | Photography is a booking duty, but no public roster photo display was located. |
| Fingerprints | Fingerprinting is performed during booking and is not a public roster field. |
| Housing assignment | Housing assignment occurs at intake, but no public housing display was found. |
| Release paperwork | Release duties include checking court orders, records, and related paperwork. |
| Work release | Staff administer work release, but no public participant list was found. |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Idaho Department of Correction is the state system for sentenced prison custody, probation, and parole. Lemhi County has no IDOC prison or community reentry center listed inside the county. IDOC prison locations are elsewhere in Idaho and in out-of-state contract settings. Use IDOC once the person is under state correctional jurisdiction, not for a fresh county jail booking.
| System | Use It For | Not For |
|---|---|---|
| Lemhi County Jail | Current local custody and booking records | State prison sentence location |
| IDOC Resident/Client Search | Prison, probation, parole, felony sentence records | New county jail bookings |
| BOP Inmate Locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present | County jail or Idaho state prison custody |
| ICE ODLS | Immigration detention search | County booking photos or court charges |
The IDOC Resident/Client Search uses last name, first name, or IDOC number fields and warns that information updates daily but may change quickly.
Searchers should read the status field carefully because IDOC includes people on probation or parole as well as people physically incarcerated.
Lemhi County Detention Facilities
The facility map has one local detention page. The Lemhi County Jail is the primary and only detention facility identified inside the county during the local, state, federal, ICE, and juvenile facility sweeps.
- Lemhi County Jail - sheriff-operated county jail in Salmon for local booking, pretrial detention, short local custody, juvenile/adult detention, and work-release administration as published in local sources.
No Lemhi state prison, federal prison, ICE facility, community reentry center, or state juvenile correctional facility was found. State, federal, and immigration custody should be searched through their own locators.
Lemhi County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Lemhi County inmate population?
The Idaho Sheriffs' Association directory lists 12 average daily population for Lemhi County Detention Facility, while Vera's 2019 BJS-derived county row also lists a jail population of 12. The county sheriff page states 26 beds. Those figures are from different source types and dates.
Can I search a Lemhi County jail roster online?
No official online Lemhi County jail roster was found in the official county or sheriff sources reviewed. Start with the jail information line, then use a written public-records request when a booking record, photo, or historical record is needed.
Where do court charges appear after an arrest?
Filed charges appear in Idaho iCourt and Lemhi County District/Magistrate Court records, subject to court-access limits. Booking allegations can differ from charges later filed by the prosecutor.
Does Lemhi County publish mugshots?
Booking photography is confirmed as an intake duty, but no official Lemhi mugshot gallery or roster photo display was found. Booking photos should be requested through the county public-records process if releasable.