Scott County Jail Overview
The Scott County Jail, also referred to locally as the Scott County Detention Center, is operated by the Scott County Sheriff's Office. The official facility address is 531 Airport Road, Forest, MS 39074. The jail phone is 601-469-1511, and the fax number is 601-469-5224. The operator is the Sheriff's Office led by Sheriff Michael W. "Mike" Lee.
The facility holds county detainees from least security through maximum security levels. That includes local pretrial detainees, local sentenced jail prisoners, people held for court, and low-risk state or county work program trustees when assigned. It is not a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison, a federal prison, or an ICE detention center. That distinction matters for lookup because state-sentenced inmates move to MDOC search systems after transfer, while federal and immigration cases require separate locator channels.
The official Scott County Jail page describes the Forest facility, its detention capacity, and its work camp component.
The official jail page is the best source for the facility's role, but it does not publish a working county roster in the research captured for this build.
Scott County Jail Capacity
The sheriff's jail page lists capacity for up to 323 detainees. It also notes a work camp office that can house up to 86 low-security prisoners. Those are facility capacity figures, not a live daily headcount. The research did not locate a current public dashboard showing today's Scott County Jail population, current pod counts, annual bookings, or average length of stay.
Historical population data from the Vera Institute showed Scott County jail population rows such as 100 people in 2019 and 134 people in 2018, but those rows are historical county data, not a current jail roster. The Scott County inmate population overview separates historical population data from live custody checks. The safer current reading is that the sheriff publishes facility capacity and service details, while live custody confirmation requires direct jail contact or the correct custody locator.
Scott County Jail Inmate Lookup
No working official online Scott County Jail roster was located in the research. The sheriff menu label for an inmate roster redirected to the Mississippi Department of Corrections, and the older local roster path returned a 404 page as of June 19, 2026. For a newly arrested person, the county jail phone and records channels are more reliable than the MDOC locator because MDOC is for sentenced state prisoners.
Custody lookups tied to this facility should stay separate from state-prison searches. The broader Scott County jail inmate records path explains how county booking records, sheriff jail-docket entries, MDOC records, federal custody, ICE custody, and VINELink notifications fit together.
- Call Scott County Jail at 601-469-1511 when the person was recently arrested or may still be in county custody.
- Use in-person or mailed contact at 531 Airport Road, Forest, MS 39074 when a jail docket entry or booking record is needed.
- Search Mississippi Department of Corrections inmate search only after the person may have been sentenced to MDOC custody.
- Use BOP inmate locator for federal sentenced custody and the U.S. Marshals district office for federal pretrial custody questions.
- Use ICE Online Detainee Locator System if the person may have moved into immigration custody.
- Use VINELink for release and custody notifications where Mississippi data is available.
The custody line can change fast. A person arrested in Scott County may be booked, released on bond, moved to another agency, transferred after sentencing, or held on a detainer. A detainer is a hold request from another authority. It can keep a person in custody even when a local bond issue appears resolved.
Scott County Jail Contact
Use the main jail and sheriff number for custody status, booking questions, property questions, current release instructions, and visitor-entry questions. The county sources do not publish a separate booking desk extension or public lobby hours, so a call before travel is the practical route.
Scott County Jail
531 Airport Road
Forest, MS 39074
601-469-1511
Fax 601-469-5224
Detention Leadership
Chief Jail Administrator Brad Carson
bcarson@scottcountyms.gov
Captain Landy Johnson
ljohnson@scottcountyms.gov
The Scott County Sheriff's Office contact page lists detention contacts and the main office phone and fax.
The contact page is useful when a custody question requires a staff contact instead of a locator search.
Scott County Jail Services
The sheriff describes the jail as a full-service detention facility. Supported details include kitchen and laundry services, medical or clinical services, dental services, and video court for first appearances, arraignments, and bond hearings. The video court detail is important because early court proceedings can occur while the person remains at the jail.
Chief Jail Administrator Brad Carson is tied in official material to planning and building the new detention center, and Captain Landy Johnson is described as handling day-to-day detention operations, inmate transport, Joint State County Work Program trustees, and facility upkeep. Those details show that the jail does more than short booking intake. It also manages work program trustees and court transport issues.
| Service | Local Detail |
|---|---|
| Medical and dental | Official jail page lists clinical, medical, and dental services. |
| Kitchen and laundry | Facility service functions listed by the sheriff. |
| Video court | Used for first appearances, arraignments, and bond hearings. |
| Work camp | Low-security prisoners may be housed in the work camp component. |
| Transport | Detention captain responsibilities include inmate transport. |
Scott County Jail Visitation
The sheriff's jail information page says families can use Securus Technologies phone products and HomeWAV for video visitation accounts connected to the Scott County Detention Center. The local source does not publish a complete in-person visiting calendar, remote video price, visit length, dress code, child visitor rules, approval timing, or attorney visit schedule. Do not assume a standard schedule from another county.
| Channel | How It Is Handled | Local Limits Found |
|---|---|---|
| Securus | Account channel for phone products tied to the detention center. | No local price or schedule published. |
| HomeWAV | Video visitation account channel. | No visit length or calendar published. |
| In-person visits | Call the jail before travel. | Public hours and entry rules not located. |
| Attorney visits | Coordinate with the jail or court. | Specific rules not published in the source set. |
Bring a government photo ID if visiting or asking for in-person information, leave contraband out of the facility, and call 601-469-1511 before making the trip. Parking, public transit routes, visitor entrance signage, and ADA entrance details were not published in the inspected local sources.
Scott County Jail Mail Money
The jail information page says mail can be sent to an inmate at Scott County Jail when the inmate's name and ID number are on the envelope. It also states that correspondence is examined by jail staff. The inmate ID number matters because mail and commissary funds are harder to route when the sender has only a common name or an uncertain booking date.
Money can be deposited through lobby kiosks or online through Tiger Commissary. Tiger Commissary is a trust and commissary vendor, not a bond-payment portal. For bond, call the jail or the court. For commissary, make sure the person is still housed at Scott County Jail before placing an order.
| Service | Provider or Detail | Key Caution |
|---|---|---|
| Use inmate name and ID number on the envelope. | All correspondence is examined by jail staff. | |
| Phone and video | Securus and HomeWAV channels are listed. | Local rates and schedules were not published. |
| Money deposit | Lobby kiosks and Tiger Commissary online. | Not for bond posting. |
The Tiger Commissary Scott MS Detention Center page shows web deposit and commissary order options.
The vendor page is useful only after custody and inmate identity have been confirmed with the jail or account system.
Scott County Jail Records
The sheriff is the local jailor, and Mississippi law requires the sheriff to keep a jail docket. The jail docket statute covers the warrant or mittimus, the prisoner's name, dates received and committed, cause of imprisonment, authority for custody, duration, release or discharge, and transfer receipt when sent to the penitentiary. A mittimus is a court commitment order that authorizes custody.
If a booking record, jail docket entry, or booking photograph is not online, use Mississippi public-records request principles and ask the Sheriff's Office for the record held by the agency. Identify the person's full name, date of birth if known, approximate arrest or booking date, arresting agency, and the record requested. Court outcomes belong with the court, so dismissal, indictment, conviction, acquittal, or expunction questions should be routed to the clerk or court that handled the case.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest, including identity and custody paperwork.
- Jail docket
- The sheriff-maintained custody record required by Mississippi law.
- Detainer
- A hold request from another agency or jurisdiction.
- Classification
- The jail decision assigning a custody or security level.
Directions to Scott County Jail
The jail and sheriff's office are on Airport Road in Forest, the county seat. Visitors approaching from Interstate 20 should route into Forest and then to Airport Road. From the courthouse area at 100 East Main Street, expect a short local drive from downtown Forest to the sheriff and jail complex. For Morton, Lake, Sebastopol, and rural parts of Scott County, the most reliable route is to use the full street address.
Confirm visitor parking, accessible entry, and visitor entrance instructions by phone before arrival because the official pages do not publish parking rules, public transit details, or ADA entrance details. Bring a government photo ID, do not bring contraband, and follow current instructions from jail staff.
County State Federal Custody
Scott County Jail is the correct starting point for recent local arrests and county jail custody. MDOC is the correct statewide locator for people who have been sentenced to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. BOP is the federal sentenced-prisoner locator. ICE is the immigration custody locator. These systems do not replace each other.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| County jail | Scott County Jail phone, in person, or records request. | Recent arrests, pretrial custody, local short sentences. |
| State prison | MDOC inmate search. | Sentenced state prisoners after transfer. |
| Federal | BOP locator or U.S. Marshals district contact. | Federal sentenced or pretrial custody. |
| Immigration | ICE Online Detainee Locator System. | Immigration custody after transfer from local custody. |
Note: Confirm custody with Scott County Jail before traveling, sending money, or relying on a state or federal locator result.