Look Up Lake County Detention Center Inmates

Lake County Detention Center Overview

The Lake County Detention Center is operated by the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 551 W. Main St. in downtown Tavares, across from the Judicial Center. It was built in 1992 and holds misdemeanor and felony inmates, both male and female, plus juveniles under county jurisdiction. The population is mostly pretrial, meaning people held while their cases move through court, along with some short-sentence inmates.

The Sheriff lists a rated capacity of 960 and an average daily population of 828 tied to 2019, when the jail booked 9,169 people. A 2019 jail medical contract describes multiple housing levels with extended-corridor layout, a clinic and sick-call area, a 30-bed infirmary, a dental operatory, and x-ray capacity. The jail houses maximum, medium, and minimum classifications.

Lake County Detention Center Capacity and Population

Capacity and population for the Detention Center come from the Sheriff's Corrections Operations page and the state's monthly jail report. The state's July 2024 average daily population for the Lake County jail was 824, close to the 828 the Sheriff lists. Against the 960-bed capacity, that is roughly 86% full, a figure calculated from the official numbers rather than published as an occupancy rate.

How to Look Up an Inmate at the Lake County Detention Center

Use the Sheriff's inmate search for anyone held at the Detention Center. It is free, public, and searches by name only, with a reCAPTCHA before the search runs. The roster how-to in more depth is on the jail inmate records page.

1. Open the Lake County inmate search on the Sheriff's site.
2. Enter a first and last name, then clear the reCAPTCHA.
3. Confirm the result matches the person you are looking for.
4. Open the profile for charges, bond, booking photos, and court details.

If the person was sentenced to state prison, they leave the county jail and the search shifts to the state locator. A no-result can mean a release, a transfer, or a spelling mismatch, so confirm by phone before assuming someone is not in custody.

Lake County Detention Center Address and Contact

The jail and its information lines are reached through the Sheriff's corrections numbers. Booking and inmate records have their own direct lines for questions the roster cannot answer.

Visiting Someone at the Lake County Detention Center

Visits are video only. The jail no longer holds in-person visits inside the building. You can connect remotely through Securus from home, or use the on-site Visitation Center at 28129 County Road 561 in Tavares. Inmates get two free video visits a week, and each can last up to an hour. The window below is the on-site Visitation Center schedule.

Visitors must be 18 or older with a current government photo ID, and a minor needs a parent or guardian present. Dress rules bar tank tops, strapless or see-through tops, and short skirts or shorts. The Visitation Center line is 352-609-2177.

The Sheriff explains the video visit setup and the Securus link on its visitation page. The LCSO video visitation page lists the hours and the Visitation Center address.

That page is the place to confirm the current schedule before you set up a visit.

Mail, Phone, and Money at the Lake County Detention Center

Personal mail is no longer accepted at the jail directly. It goes through the Securus Digital Mail Center, which scans and prints it for the inmate. Legal mail, publisher-sent publications, and money orders still go to the jail address. Phone service runs through Securus, and money can be deposited at the lobby kiosk or online.

An inmate with enough in the commissary account can post their own bond. Securus customer service is 1-800-844-6591. The handbook notes that account refunds may take up to 24 business hours to become available and stay collectible for 90 days after release, after which an uncollected balance is forfeited. Western Union fees or minimum amounts can reduce a refund, so inmates are encouraged to spend down a balance before release.

Two reminders help families avoid trouble. First, the bond payee depends on the charge: local checks or money orders go to the Clerk of Courts, while out-of-county charges name the Lake County Sheriff, and the Sheriff says to call and confirm the amount before bringing funds. Second, no Sheriff's Office employee will ever phone asking for bond money, and any caller demanding gift cards or a wire transfer is a scam.

Booking and Intake at the Lake County Detention Center

Intake for the county system happens at the Main Jail and at the South Lake District Intake Facility in Clermont, but health screening is done on arrival at Booking in the Main Jail by a trained nurse. Staff confirm identity, create the booking record, take the booking photo, and issue a photo ID card the inmate wears. Property is inventoried and stored.

Classification follows, reviewing criminal history, behavior, security needs, and program eligibility to set the custody level and housing. An arrested person is usually brought before a duty judge within about 24 hours, where bond and a Public Defender request can be addressed.

Programs and Conditions at the Lake County Detention Center

The jail runs several programs alongside basic custody. Chaplaincy services, supervised through Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, provide Sunday and Wednesday services for each housing unit, Bible studies, and crisis-message delivery, offered to all inmates regardless of faith. The ACER Academy serves juveniles held at the jail, run by Lake County Schools with a certified teacher, and qualified adults can pursue GED testing through a partnership with Lake Technical College.

Other support includes recovery groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Celebrate Recovery, a weekly book cart for each housing unit, and a "Released" brochure handed out at processing that lists reentry resources. On the medical side, each inmate receives an examination at intake, and sick-call requests are made through the housing-unit messaging kiosk. The handbook says no inmate is denied necessary medical care for inability to pay, and inmates have access to a grievance process as a basic right.

The jail describes itself as a structured, no-frills environment that houses everyone under humane conditions, whether convicted or awaiting trial. The handbook lists inmate rights that include access to courts, legal counsel, the facility rules, religious practice within security limits, health care, correspondence and visitation under the rules, and the grievance process. Those standards trace back to Florida law and the Model Jail Standards, which is the same framework that produces the public population figures the county reports.

About the Lake County Detention Center

The Detention Center employs 239 people, including 179 sworn and 60 non-sworn staff, which is the workforce behind the daily population. It has been accredited by the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission since 2006, and its inmate medical department earned National Commission on Correctional Health Care accreditation in 2017. Jail programs include chaplaincy services, the ACER Academy for juveniles run with Lake County Schools, GED teaching and testing with Lake Technical College, recovery groups, a weekly book cart, and a release brochure given at processing. The facility's rules follow Florida Statutes, the Florida Model Jail Standards, and the accreditation standards. Once sentenced to prison, inmates leave here for a state facility such as Lake Correctional Institution.