Onslow County Detention Center Inmate Lookup

Onslow County Detention Center Overview

Onslow County Detention Center, also called the Sheriff's Office Detention Center in county materials, is operated by the Onslow County Sheriff's Office. The facility is at 717 Court Street in Jacksonville, in the same downtown government and court district as the Onslow County Courthouse. The Detention Division page identifies two operating parts: the Detention Facility Unit, which handles inmate security, management, and health, and the Detention Administration Unit, which supports training, special projects, PREA, inmate transport, court liaison, visitation, building maintenance, janitorial services, and maintenance services.

This is a county-jail facility, not a North Carolina state prison. It holds people awaiting trial, newly booked arrestees, inmates serving short local sentences, and people being moved for court, release, or other accepted local custody needs. Once a person is sentenced to state prison, the correct lookup channel changes to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction offender search. If the person is in federal prison or immigration detention, use the BOP or ICE systems instead of treating the county app as a statewide locator.

Onslow County Detention Center Capacity and Population

County Justice Complex budget and transmittal documents are the best sourced capacity records located for this facility. Those county documents describe the jail expansion from 117 beds to a detention center designed to house 528 inmates. The official 2025 Sheriff's Office Annual Report text extracted in the research also reported an average daily jail population of 470 in the inmate-by-gender chart, although the exact gender breakdown was not extractable from the available text. That means the 470 figure should be phrased as an annual-report average, not as a live population count for today.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Onslow County Detention Center

The official county lookup channel is the free Onslow County Sheriff's Office app, not a public roster page on the county website. The county FAQ says the app has an Inmate Search tool that displays mugshots and directs users to click the Jail Info button for the inmate list and related information. The same FAQ says mugshots and arrest records are not published on the county website, so a web search that expects a county-hosted booking gallery will miss the official local process.

1. Download "Onslow County Sheriff's Office" from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
2. Open the app and choose the Jail Info button named in the county FAQ.
3. Use the app's inmate search or inmate list to look for the person's name and current jail information.
4. If the person is not listed, call Booking at 910-937-1470 or Questions/Visitation at 910-937-1475 before assuming release or transfer.
5. For an arrest report from the Sheriff's Office, use the county NextRequest portal and select the applicable Sheriff's Office arrest-report option.

The app-store listing is a useful match for this page because the county's current jail lookup path runs through the mobile app. The Google Play page for the Onslow County Sheriff's Office app is one of the successful manifest images for this project.

Because the county describes inmate search and mugshot access as app-based, the app listing supports the lookup steps without implying that a browser roster exists on the county website.

Onslow County Detention Center Address and Contact

Use the jail-specific numbers when the question is about current custody, booking, visitation, medical communication, or attorney contact. The main Sheriff's Office number is useful for general routing, but the Detention Division publishes specialized lines for jail work.

Visiting Someone at Onslow County Detention Center

Onslow County uses Securus Technologies for phone, Video Connect, video visitation scheduling, e-messaging, and related communication accounts. The county detention page says same-day visits are not allowed except for emergencies such as a missing child, a command visit, or an important attorney case update. All other visits must be scheduled 24 hours in advance. Call 910-937-1475 for on-site visits or schedule remote visits through Securus.

No official day-by-day visiting calendar, dress code, child-visitor rule, ID rule, holiday schedule, or video-visit price table was located in the research. Confirm the current visit window, identification requirements, and any lockdown or holiday limits with the jail before traveling to Court Street or paying for a remote video session.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Onslow County Detention Center

Onslow County separates personal mail from professional mail. Personal mail is routed to a Tampa, Florida processing address and must include the inmate's name and ID number. Professional mail goes to the physical jail address on Court Street. Books must be brand new, softback, and sent by a publisher or distributor such as Amazon, Books-A-Million, or Barnes & Noble. For communication accounts, the county identifies Securus Technologies and provides 1-800-844-6591 and SecurusTech.net.

Commissary, Deposits, and Care Packages

The county identifies Oasis Commissary as the current commissary vendor. Money can be placed on an inmate's books through JailATM.com, by calling ATM Customer Service at 870-627-5476, or by using the Sheriff's Office lobby kiosk at 717 Court Street. The county notes that the lobby kiosk is open 24/7. Care packages, items, and food packages are handled through JailCanteen.com. No official fee table, spending limit, or package limit was located, so confirm current fees and eligibility with the vendor or jail before sending funds.

Booking and Intake at Onslow County Detention Center

A person arrested by the Onslow County Sheriff's Office, Jacksonville Police, another municipal agency, a state agency, or a federal partner may be transported to Onslow County Detention Center when local custody is used. Booking staff verify identity and legal paperwork, create or update the booking record, and move the person through intake. North Carolina law provides for fingerprinting and photographing arrested persons in covered circumstances, which is why a booking photo can exist even though Onslow County says it does not publish mugshots or arrest records on the county website.

The jail's substance-use program article provides a county-specific intake detail: inmates undergo a health screening during booking. If they are identified as substance users, staff assess withdrawal symptoms and the need for induction into the program. Communication after booking is handled through Securus accounts, while bond and initial court questions may involve the Magistrate's Office at 910-478-3619 and the Onslow County Courthouse at 910-478-3600.

Programs, Medical, and Facility Notes

Onslow County's detention materials show more than basic custody functions. The Detention Administration Unit includes PREA responsibilities, inmate transport, court liaison, visitation, training, special projects, building maintenance, and other support work. Medical questions have a published detention number at 910-937-1453. A November 25, 2024 Sheriff's Office article says the detention center operates a substance-use treatment program with medication, counseling, case management, peer support, and referral to community-based treatment after release.

The same article says the program began after the Onslow County Board of Commissioners approved two federal COSSUP grants in 2021. As of November 20, 2024, it had 52 participants and had served 116 participants since July 1, 2024. The article also reported participant indicators tied to fentanyl use, repeated overdoses, mental-health diagnoses, and poverty. Those figures describe the program population, not the whole jail population, and should not be used as countywide inmate demographics.