Bloomington Jail Roster and Inmate Search

The Bloomington jail roster is maintained by Monroe County, not the city itself. Bloomington does not run its own jail. When Bloomington Police Department officers make arrests, the people they book are taken to the Monroe County Jail at 301 N. College Ave in Bloomington. That facility is run by the Monroe County Sheriff and is completely separate from the Bloomington Police Department. To find a current inmate, you search through Monroe County's system or use the statewide INjail portal.

Bloomington Police Department

The City of Bloomington Police Department is a full-service police agency. According to the department's own description, it provides "police protection to a city of approximately 85,000 residents" and "currently employs 156 full-time persons: 91 sworn officers and 65 civilian employees." Officers handle everything from traffic stops to felony investigations across the city.

The police department is located at 220 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47401. The Records Division is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. You can call the non-emergency line at 812-339-4477 for general questions. The department handles incident reports, accident reports, and related records, but it does not hold inmates. All people arrested by Bloomington Police are booked at the Monroe County Jail.

For accident reports and other police records, visit bloomington.in.gov/public-safety/accident-reports. The department's FAQ page at bloomington.in.gov/police/faqs covers common questions about records, complaints, and services.

Finding Inmates at Monroe County Jail

The Monroe County Jail is located at 301 N. College Ave in Bloomington. It is operated by the Monroe County Sheriff, not by the city. As the Bloomington Police Department notes, the jail "is totally separate from the Bloomington Police Department." The jail phone number is 812-349-2750 (Monroe County Sheriff). If you need to reach the jail directly, that is the number to call.

The Bloomington Police Department page at bloomington.in.gov/departments/police shown below provides information on police services, including links to records access and inmate-related resources.

The city's police page points residents toward Monroe County resources for inmate lookups and custody information.

For online inmate searches, use the statewide INjail portal at public.indianajail.gov. This tool covers Monroe County and most other Indiana counties. Search by name to find current bookings, charges, and bond status. It is free and does not require an account.

VINE Victim Notification

VINE is a free notification service that alerts you when someone's custody status changes at the Monroe County Jail. To sign up, visit VINELink.com or call 1-866-959-8463. You can register online or by phone. The system works around the clock and will call or email you when an inmate is released, transferred, or has any other change in custody status.

This service is particularly useful in a city like Bloomington, where the university population means a high number of people with out-of-town family members trying to track down a loved one. You don't need to keep calling the jail or checking the website manually. VINE handles that for you and sends an alert when something changes.

Booking Records and Public Access

When someone is arrested by Bloomington Police and booked at Monroe County Jail, a booking record is created. These records are public under IC 5-14-3, Indiana's Access to Public Records Act. The record typically includes the person's name, date of birth, charges, booking date, and bond amount.

Indiana also sets minimum standards for jail records under 210 IAC 3-1-6. This administrative regulation covers how county jails must maintain and share records with the public. Monroe County Jail follows these standards.

If someone has already been released and no longer appears on the active roster, you can still request their booking record. Submit a written public records request to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. There is no fee to submit a request, though copying fees may apply for paper records. Some records may be withheld if they involve ongoing investigations or juvenile offenders.

Additional Resources

If someone you're looking for does not appear in the Monroe County Jail roster, they may have been transferred to a state facility. The Indiana Department of Correction runs an offender locator at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov. This covers people serving sentences at Indiana state prisons and work release programs. If a Bloomington-area arrest led to a conviction and state sentence, the person will appear in the IDOC system.

The INjail portal at public.indianajail.gov is another statewide resource that pulls booking data from jails across Indiana. Use it if you think someone may have been booked in a neighboring county or if the Monroe County system doesn't show the person you're looking for.

Nearby Cities

Bloomington is in south-central Indiana. Several nearby cities are also served by their respective county jails for inmate custody.