Where to Start a Bolivar County Inmate Search
Custody in Bolivar County splits into three tracks, and the track decides the tool. A person just arrested goes into local custody at the county jail. A person already sentenced to a prison term is in state custody under the Mississippi Department of Corrections. A person held on a federal charge is tracked by the Bureau of Prisons. One search will not cover all three. So the first job is to figure out which track the person is on.
There is no official county sheriff portal that posts a live booking list for Bolivar County. For someone in the jail right now, the working channel is the phone or the front counter. Staff at the Sheriff's Department and the Regional Correctional Facility can confirm whether a name is in custody, when the person was booked, and how the first court appearance is set. For a sentenced state inmate, the search moves online to the corrections department.
Keep the custody question separate from the court question. A jail roster tells you where a body is held. It does not lay out the charges, pleas, or sentence. Those details live in the case file, which is covered on the Bolivar County criminal court records page. Start with custody when you need to find someone fast, and move to the court record when you need the legal outcome.
Bolivar County Regional Correctional Facility
Local custody centers on the Bolivar County Regional Correctional Facility in Cleveland. The county describes it as a medium-security facility that houses about 250 state inmates, run by Warden Brenda Cox. It sits on Highway 8 West, the same address as the Sheriff's Office. Because the county does not post inmate names online, this facility and the Sheriff's Department are the direct line for a current custody check.
The official county page for the facility lists its role, capacity, and program slate. The Regional Correctional Facility page is the source for those facility facts.
That page confirms the facility's medium-security status and points callers to the right phone line for custody questions.
Two offices share the Highway 8 West campus. Use the facility line for jail and inmate questions. Use the Sheriff's main line for arrests, deputies, and general law-enforcement matters. The Sheriff's Office also lists Chief Deputy Darrin White, Chief Deputy Steve Rose, and Lead Investigator Christopher McCain.
Bolivar County Regional Correctional Facility
2792 Hwy 8 West
Cleveland, MS 38732
662-843-7478
Fax 662-846-2957
Warden Brenda Cox
Bolivar County Sheriff's Office
2792 Hwy 8 West
Cleveland, MS 38732
662-843-5378
Sheriff Kelvin Williams Sr.
MDOC Inmate Search for State Prisoners
Once a Bolivar County defendant is sentenced to a state prison term, the record moves to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. MDOC runs an online inmate search that the public can use without an account. This is the right tool when the person has left the local jail and entered state custody. It is not built to show a fresh county booking, so do not expect a same-day arrest to appear there.
The MDOC homepage hosts the search and links related tools. The MDOC inmate and parolee search is the official starting point for state custody.
From that page, a searcher can run a name or an ID number through the state inmate index.
- Open the MDOC website and choose the inmate search tool from the homepage.
- Enter a last name, or a first and last name, or an MDOC ID number if you have one.
- Run the search and review the list of matching state inmates.
- Open a record to see the details MDOC returns for that person.
- For a recent county booking that does not appear, call the Regional Correctional Facility at 662-843-7478.
Note: The MDOC search covers people in state custody, so a person held only in the county jail on a new charge may not show up there at all.
MDOC Inmate Roster Search Fields
The state inmate search keeps its form short. A user can search by name or by the MDOC identification number, and either path works on its own. The table below lists the fields the MDOC search exposes and how each one behaves.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | Optional if ID or last name used | The homepage allows a name search or an ID search. |
| Last Name | Text | Optional if ID used | Best for sentenced state inmates, not fresh county bookings. |
| MDOC ID Number | Text | Optional if name used | A direct identifier for state corrections records. |
| Search | Button | Yes to run the search | Labeled SEARCH in the site instructions. |
A parolee search uses the same kind of form on the MDOC site, with its own first name, last name, and ID fields. It is a separate index from the inmate search, so a person on parole is found through the parolee tool rather than the in-custody list.
Booking Process in Bolivar County
An arrest in Bolivar County can follow more than one path. The arresting agency might be the Sheriff's Department, the Highway Patrol, or a city police force in Cleveland, Merigold, Mound Bayou, Rosedale, Shaw, or Shelby. Where the person is booked and which court hears the charge both turn on the agency and the offense. A county arrest usually routes through the Sheriff's Department and the Regional Correctional Facility.
At intake, staff record the booking, take basic identifying information, and classify the person for housing. From there the case splits. The custody record stays with the jail or the arresting agency. The charge record moves to Justice, Municipal, County, or Circuit Court, depending on the offense. A state prison record is created only later, if the person is sentenced and enters MDOC custody. The timing matters for searchers. A name can show up in the county jail within hours of an arrest yet take weeks to reach a state database, since the move to MDOC happens only after a conviction and sentence.
The court side of that split is its own search. The charges a prosecutor actually files are tracked through the case and explained on the Bolivar County court charge records page. A booking confirms custody. The charge record confirms what the person is accused of and how the case is moving.
What a Bolivar County Inmate Record Shows
Because the county does not publish an online booking profile, the most reliable field-level record comes from MDOC for state custody. The fields below reflect what a state corrections search can return. They are a cautious guide, not a promise that every field appears for every person.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The inmate's name as entered in state corrections records. |
| MDOC ID | The state identification number, when the search returns it. |
| Custody Status | Whether the person is currently in state custody, where shown. |
| Facility Assignment | The prison or regional facility holding a sentenced inmate. |
| Parolee Status | Returned through the separate parolee search for people on parole. |
Note: No official Bolivar County profile page was found that posts mugshots, housing pods, booking numbers, or bond amounts online, so those details come from calling the facility.
Inmate Programs at the Bolivar County Facility
The Regional Correctional Facility offers a published slate of programs aimed at treatment, education, and reentry. These are the county's own listed offerings, not extrapolated from other Mississippi jails. The Mississippi Department of Corrections also maintains a facility page for the site.
The state corrections department lists the facility's type, address, and phone. The MDOC Bolivar facility page records those official details.
It confirms the regional facility type and the same Cleveland address used for inmate questions.
- Alcohol and drug rehabilitation, a long-term program lasting six months.
- GED classes and adult literacy instruction.
- Basic construction and other vocational training.
- Anger management and pre-release life skills.
- Basic and advanced computer skills.
- Discipleship and religious services.
- An inmate library for reading and study.
Bolivar County Jail Visitation Rules
The official facility page links a visitation schedule, but the underlying days, times, and rules were not published in the captured page. That means visitors should confirm everything by phone before traveling. State and regional facilities also adjust visitation during lockdowns, staffing shortages, holidays, health restrictions, and security events, so a schedule can change without much notice.
The table below shows which visitation details could be verified from official sources and how to confirm each one. Do not assume any time or rule until the facility states it directly.
| Visitation Detail | Published Online? | How to Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| In-person days and times | Not captured | Call 662-843-7478 |
| Video visitation provider | Not located | Call the facility |
| Visitor ID requirements | Not published | Call the facility |
| Dress code | Not published | Call the facility |
| Child visitor rules | Not published | Call the facility |
| Attorney visits | Not published | Contact the facility directly |
Note: Always call the Regional Correctional Facility at 662-843-7478 to confirm visitation days, hours, and ID rules before scheduling a visit or driving to Cleveland.
Mail and Money for Bolivar County Inmates
Mail, commissary, and money rules sit in the same gap as the visitation schedule. No official Bolivar County page was found that lists the mailing format, the commissary vendor, a deposit kiosk, an online money provider, or any pricing. That makes the facility itself the only verified source for how to write, send funds, or set up a phone account.
Before mailing a letter, sending money, or arranging a call, contact the Regional Correctional Facility by phone. Ask how mail must be addressed, what items are allowed, how to add money to an account, and which provider handles inmate phone time. Confirming these rules first avoids rejected mail, returned funds, and wasted fees.
Federal and State Inmate Searches Beyond Bolivar County
Not everyone with a Bolivar County tie is held in the county. A person in federal custody is tracked by the Bureau of Prisons, which runs a national locator. A person on parole shows up through the MDOC parolee tool rather than the in-custody list. Matching the search to the right system is what makes the lookup work.
The federal locator is open to the public and covers inmates across the federal system. The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator is the place to search for someone held on a federal charge.
It returns federal custody status for a name or a register number, which the county and state tools do not cover.
- County custody: call the Sheriff at 662-843-5378 or the facility at 662-843-7478.
- State sentenced inmates: use the MDOC inmate search online.
- Parolees: use the MDOC parolee search, a separate index.
- Federal inmates: use the Bureau of Prisons locator.
- Booking detail not online: request it from the Sheriff or jail in person.
The Sex Offender Registry Is Not a Jail Roster
People sometimes use the state sex-offender registry to look for someone in custody. That is the wrong tool. The registry lists convicted, registered offenders in the community. It does not show who is booked in the Bolivar County jail today, and a person arrested or charged is not required to register unless the case ends in a qualifying conviction.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety runs the registry with a name search, a geographic search, and a community notification function. The Mississippi sex-offender registry also warns that its data may not reflect a person's current address, status, or other details, and that positive identification cannot be confirmed without fingerprint comparison. The registry hotline answers at 601-987-1540.
Note: Use the registry to check for registered offenders, not for current custody, and verify any match with the agency that holds the underlying record before acting on it.