Claiborne County Detention Center Overview
Claiborne County Detention Center, also referred to locally as the Claiborne County Jail, is the county jail for Port Gibson and the rest of Claiborne County. The jail is operated through the Claiborne County Sheriff's Office. The official county sheriff page identifies Sheriff Edward Goods and describes the sheriff's Mississippi duties as including the role of county jailor and keeping the jail docket.
The facility is a county jail, not a state prison. Its population can include adult pretrial detainees who have not been convicted, people serving local sentences, defendants waiting for first appearance or bond action, and people held briefly before transfer or release. A current rated capacity was not located in the official county material reviewed for this build. Because the official sheriff page publishes the mailing address and phone number, but not a separate public visitor entrance, visitors should call before going to the courthouse-jail area in Port Gibson.
For local context, the official Claiborne County sheriff page is the county source that ties the sheriff's office to jail operations. The screenshot below comes from that source and is relevant because the same office is the first local contact for custody status, bond questions, booking-record requests, and jail docket information.
The sheriff page should be treated as an office-contact source rather than a live inmate roster. It does not publish a searchable public roster in the material reviewed, so real-time questions still need to go through the jail phone line or a written public-records request.
Claiborne County Detention Center Capacity and Population
No current official capacity or daily population number was located for Claiborne County Detention Center. The only facility-specific numbers in the reviewed research are historical Vera Institute jail figures from 2005. Those figures should not be read as today's capacity or today's inmate count, but they help distinguish old baseline jail data from live custody information.
For 2005, Vera listed a rated capacity of 25, a total jail population of 7, annual jail admits of 156, and a pretrial custody count of 7 for Claiborne County. Because the data is historical, current crowding, bed use, and day-to-day population should be confirmed directly with the Claiborne County Sheriff's Office.
How to Look Up an Inmate at Claiborne County Detention Center
No official public online Claiborne County jail roster was found in the reviewed county sources. For current custody, bond status, release timing, or jail docket questions, start with the jail phone number. For a copy of booking records, mugshots, or jail docket entries, use a written public-records request to the office that maintains the records. Mississippi's jail-docket law makes the sheriff's docket an important records path because it requires the sheriff to keep public jail docket fields for people committed to the county jail.
- Call 601-437-5161 and ask whether the person is currently held at Claiborne County Detention Center.
- Have the person's full name, approximate date of birth, arrest date, and arresting agency ready, if known.
- Ask whether the question involves current custody, bond, a first appearance, a release, or a jail docket entry.
- For records, submit a written request for booking records, mugshots, jail docket entries, or release information instead of relying on an unofficial roster source.
- If the person has been sentenced or transferred, search the Mississippi Department of Corrections locator, then check BOP or ICE systems if federal or immigration custody may be involved.
Mississippi Code Section 19-25-63 requires the sheriff to keep a jail docket with fields such as the warrant or mittimus, issuing authority, name, date received, date of arrest or commitment, cause, authority, length of custody, release or discharge, and transfer receipt. That does not mean every detail is instantly available online. It means the jail docket is the local public-records trail when a live roster is unavailable.
Claiborne County Detention Center Address and Contact
The official sheriff page lists a mailing address, phone number, and fax number for the Claiborne County Sheriff's Office. Research also places the jail in the Market Street courthouse-jail area of Port Gibson, with references to 410 Market Street and nearby court offices on Market Street. Because public county pages do not publish a separate jail lobby, bond window, or visitation entrance, call before driving to confirm where to enter.
Claiborne County Detention Center
P.O. Box 427
Port Gibson, MS 39150
601-437-5161
Fax: 601-437-3830
Physical reference: Market Street courthouse-jail area, Port Gibson. Call first for visitor, bond, or lobby directions.
Visiting Someone at Claiborne County Detention Center
No official local visitation schedule, video visitation provider, appointment rule, dress code, identification rule, child-visitor policy, or prohibited-items list was located in the reviewed Claiborne County materials. That absence matters. Do not assume that a national jail-vendor page or another Mississippi county's schedule applies in Claiborne County. Call the jail before traveling, especially if the visit depends on a same-day first appearance, a bond decision, or a transfer.
| Topic | Posted Local Detail | Call-First Question |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting days | No official schedule located | Ask which days and times apply to the inmate's housing status. |
| Visit type | No confirmed in-person or video policy located | Ask whether visits are in person, video, appointment only, or suspended for classification reasons. |
| Identification | No local ID rule located | Ask what government ID is required and whether minors may visit. |
| Dress code | No local dress code located | Ask what clothing, bags, phones, or personal items are barred from the visitor area. |
| Arrival and entry | No official visitor entrance located | Ask where to park, which door to use, and whether courthouse security screening applies. |
Mail, Phone, and Money at Claiborne County Detention Center
The reviewed local sources did not identify a commissary vendor, phone vendor, video vendor, kiosk location, money-order policy, fee schedule, or mail-scanning rule for Claiborne County Detention Center. Do not assume any national jail vendor, online deposit system, or video platform is used unless jail staff confirms it. Before sending mail or deposits, ask whether the inmate is eligible to receive the item, whether the person is still housed locally, and what name or booking number format must be used.
| Service | Available Detail | What to Verify by Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Mail Address | No official inmate-mail format located | Confirm whether mail goes to the sheriff's P.O. Box, a street address, or a scanning vendor. |
| Phone / Video | No official provider located | Ask whether calls are collect, prepaid, tablet based, or unavailable for the housing status. |
| Money Deposit | No official vendor or fee located | Ask whether money orders, lobby deposits, online deposits, or bond payments are accepted. |
| Bond Payment | No public bond-window rule located | Ask where bond is paid, what forms of payment are accepted, and whether court approval is needed. |
Booking, Jail Court, and First Appearance
Booking at Claiborne County Detention Center begins after a local arrest or commitment order, but court handling starts quickly for many detainees. Claiborne County's court information says Justice Court judges hold jail court sessions three times weekly to protect the initial-appearance requirement within three days. That timing is important for bond, release conditions, appointed-counsel questions, and whether charges remain in Justice Court or move forward as felony matters.
First appearances and felony affidavits begin in Justice Court. Felony cases later move to Circuit Court if the prosecution continues beyond the early affidavit and charging stage. Booking charges can differ from later filed charges, so a jail docket entry, a Justice Court matter, and a later Circuit Court case may not use identical wording. For court scheduling, the official Claiborne County courts page is the local source that explains the Justice Court, Circuit Court, prosecutor, and jail-court context.
The courts page screenshot below is relevant because many jail questions are really court-timing questions. A person may be physically held at the jail while bond, first appearance, felony affidavit, or transfer paperwork is handled through the court system.
When a custody question involves a court date, ask the jail which court has the matter and then confirm the case path with the correct court office. Justice Court may be the first stop, while later felony filings are generally handled through Circuit Court.
State, Federal, and ICE Transfers
Claiborne County Detention Center is the local jail path for county custody, but not every person who disappears from local custody has been released. A sentenced state prisoner may move into Mississippi Department of Corrections custody and should be checked through the MDOC inmate search after sentencing or transfer. A federal defendant or sentenced federal prisoner may be listed through the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. An immigration detainee may need to be searched through ICE's Online Detainee Locator System.
VINELink is also relevant for notifications. It is not a replacement for the jail phone line, and it may not show every local detail, but it can help with custody-status notifications when the person is in a participating Mississippi custody system. For Claiborne County, use the jail phone line first for local pretrial detainees, then use MDOC, VINELink, BOP, or ICE only when the person's custody type points outside the county jail.
Directions and Visitor Planning
The detention center is associated with Port Gibson's Market Street courthouse area. Research references 410 Market Street for the courthouse-jail area, while the official county courts page lists Circuit and Chancery offices at 401 Market Street and Justice Court at 501 Market Street. Those nearby addresses are useful landmarks, but they do not replace a confirmed visitor entrance, bond entrance, or jail lobby instruction from the sheriff's office.
No official parking, public transit, ADA entry, locker, or visitor-screening rule was located in the reviewed county sources. Anyone driving to Port Gibson for a visit, bond issue, records request, or court-related jail matter should call 601-437-5161 first and ask where to enter, whether the needed office is open, and whether the inmate is still held locally.
Recent News Involving the Facility
In July 2024, ABC, CBS, and the Associated Press reported that two murder suspects escaped from Claiborne County Detention Center around 2:20 a.m. on July 5, 2024. The reports said the escape involved a ceiling and outer-wall area, and that both men were captured the next day in an abandoned home in Claiborne County. ABC also reported concerns involving surveillance camera and infrastructure problems.
That reporting is dated news coverage, not a current official finding about present security conditions. For today's visiting, bond, custody, or facility-access rules, rely on the sheriff's office because emergency procedures, repairs, staffing, and visitor restrictions can change after a news event.
About Claiborne County Detention Center Records
For inmate lookup purposes, Claiborne County Detention Center records should be separated into current custody, jail docket information, booking records, mugshots, bond status, court records, and transfer information. Current custody is best confirmed by phone. Jail docket and booking materials may require a written public-records request. Court status should be checked with the correct court office when a first appearance, felony affidavit, indictment, or later Circuit Court filing is involved.
Note: Confirm custody, visiting eligibility, mail rules, and deposit options with the jail before traveling or sending money.