Union Parish Inmate Population
The Union Parish inmate population is housed at Union Parish Detention Center, a local jail and transitional work program in Farmerville. The center is unusual because the Union Parish Detention Center Commission and the Union Parish Police Jury operate it. The Union Parish Sheriff's Office FAQ tells the public that UPSO does not operate the jail. State law gives the commission keeper and operating powers, so the local custody count should not be described as a sheriff-run jail population.
The population includes local pretrial detainees, parish inmates, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections prisoners housed locally, transitional work program participants, and limited short-term immigration custody when allowed by the 2026 ICE agreement. Those groups move through different systems. A person arrested in Union Parish may appear first in the sheriff mobile app or through the jail phone line. A state-sentenced person may be tracked through Louisiana VINE or the DPS&C locator. A federal prisoner is searched through BOP, and an ICE detainee is searched through the ICE locator.
Union Parish Jail Statistics
The best current figures in the research come from the 2023 DPS&C Basic Jail Guidelines monitoring report and the 2025-2026 UPDC Commission minutes. The 2023 monitoring report listed an operational capacity of 388 and counted 343 people on the inspection day. Later commission minutes gave point-in-time totals, not an official average daily population. The May 12, 2026 minutes reported 264 DOC prisoners and 122 pretrial inmates, for a total of 386. The January 20, 2026 minutes reported 404, and October 21, 2025 minutes reported 412.
| Measure | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Operational capacity | 388 | DPS&C Basic Jail Guidelines monitoring report, Feb. 22, 2023 |
| Inspection-day count | 343 | DPS&C Basic Jail Guidelines monitoring report, Feb. 22, 2023 |
| DOC offenders on inspection day | 260 | DPS&C Basic Jail Guidelines monitoring report, Feb. 22, 2023 |
| Local offenders on inspection day | 83 | DPS&C Basic Jail Guidelines monitoring report, Feb. 22, 2023 |
| May 2026 point-in-time count | 386 | UPDC Commission minutes, May 12, 2026 |
| Union Parish population estimate | 20,561 | Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2025 |
Union Parish Inmate Trends
Union Parish jail trends show why a single roster snapshot can mislead. The 2023 inspection count was below the 388 operational capacity listed in that report. Later commission minutes show totals that rose near or above that 2023 capacity figure, though the research did not locate a newer formal capacity statement. For that reason, the accurate reading is narrow: later counts were higher than the 2023 capacity number if that capacity remained unchanged.
The trend is also shaped by state inmates. Louisiana often houses state-sentenced prisoners in local facilities, and Union Parish is a clear example. DPS&C and Bureau of Justice Statistics context in the research shows that a large share of Louisiana prisoners are housed in parish jails and transitional work programs. That state-prison role is why the Union Parish County inmate population cannot be read as only a pretrial jail population.
| Date | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 22, 2023 | 343 | 260 DOC, 83 local, 0 federal, 0 ICE; 388 capacity listed. |
| Jan. 25, 2024 | 352 | 264 DOC, 88 pretrial; 29 TWP workers. |
| Nov. 5, 2024 | 360 | 265 DOC, 95 pretrial; 18 TWP workers. |
| Jul. 15, 2025 | 383 | 250 DOC, 133 pretrial, 16 females; 56 work release. |
| Oct. 21, 2025 | 412 | 271 DOC, 141 pretrial. |
| Jan. 20, 2026 | 404 | 267 DOC, 137 pretrial; 75 TWP workers. |
| May 12, 2026 | 386 | 264 DOC, 122 pretrial; 68 TWP workers. |
Union Parish Custody Makeup
The 2023 monitoring report gave the clearest official custody split: 260 DOC offenders and 83 local offenders on the day of the inspection. It also listed 342 male inmates and 1 female inmate. Later minutes did not always repeat sex data, but they did show a continued split between DOC and pretrial counts. The July 15, 2025 minutes recorded 16 females, a useful reminder that sex breakdowns can change with daily intake and transfers.
- Pretrial detainees: Local defendants held after arrest, first appearance, bond review, or a no-bond order.
- DOC prisoners: State-sentenced people held locally under DPS&C authority.
- Transitional work: Sentenced people approved for a work program tied to local employers and room-and-board revenue.
- Short ICE custody: May 2026 minutes approved a Basic Ordering Agreement capped at 48 hours.
The Union Parish Police Jury departments page identifies the detention center and warden, while DPS&C lists the same facility as a local jail and transitional work program. That overlap matters. A person can be physically in Union Parish but still be part of state custody for search and transfer purposes.
Union Parish Jail Capacity
Capacity and governance are linked in Union Parish. The 2023 monitoring report listed 388 as the operational capacity, and Police Jury budget material says the detention center has faced financial strain because no dedicated tax was established when the facility was built. The Transitional Work Program helped stabilize operations. In January 2026 minutes, room-and-board revenue was discussed at about $1,400 monthly per inmate, which shows why the work program is central to the jail's budget picture.
The same governance structure affects public records. Louisiana R.S. 15:850.4 gives the Union Parish Detention Center Commission operating, staffing, salary, and work-release powers. The sheriff remains the public-facing law enforcement officer, but the jail keeper role sits with the commission. For readers looking for the Union Parish inmate population, this explains why some records are found through UPSO, some through the Police Jury or commission, and some through DPS&C.
Union Parish custody note: UPSO is important for arrest records and bonding, but UPDC is operated by the detention center commission and Police Jury.
Union Parish Inmate Laws
Louisiana law gives the public access to many jail and booking records while leaving room for specific exceptions. Louisiana R.S. 44:1 defines public records broadly for parish and municipal government. Louisiana R.S. 44:31 gives adults the right to inspect, copy, or reproduce public records unless another law blocks release. Louisiana R.S. 44:3 protects certain pending investigative and prosecutive records, but it also leaves initial offense reports, booking records under art. 228, summonses, citations, and bills of information public.
Key Statutes:
Louisiana C.Cr.P. art. 228 requires booking entries and says booking books and summaries are open for public inspection.
Louisiana R.S. 15:1253 gives the state jail standards commission authority over minimum standards for parish jails.
Louisiana R.S. 15:850.4 makes the Union Parish Detention Center Commission the keeper of UPDC.
Union Parish State Custody
State custody is a major part of the Union Parish County inmate population. DPS&C material explains that Louisiana uses local-level jails and transitional work programs for many state prisoners. BJS Prisoners in 2022 reported that almost 53 percent of Louisiana DOC jurisdiction prisoners were held in local parish jails. Union Parish minutes mirror that pattern, with DOC inmates outnumbering pretrial inmates in May 2026, January 2026, and October 2025.
For lookup, this means physical location and custody authority can split. A person can be held at Union Parish Detention Center yet fall under DPS&C custody. The Louisiana VINE person search and DPS&C imprisoned-person locator phone line are the state-level access points for sentenced custody and release or transfer notices. The local app and jail phone line remain the practical sources for current local booking, bond, and charge questions.
Search Union Parish Inmates
No official public web-based Union Parish jail roster was located in the research. The official current-inmate channel documented by UPSO is the Union Parish Sheriff LA mobile app. UPSO's FAQ points booking photos to the app, and the app store listing describes an Inmates feature for current inmates booked at Union Parish Detention Center. For readers who cannot use the app, the next step is the UPDC phone line for custody, bond, and charge information.
- Open the Union Parish Sheriff LA app from the official UPSO app page or app store listing.
- Use the Inmates feature for people currently booked at Union Parish Detention Center.
- Create a name or date-of-birth alert if the app offers the needed booking or release notification.
- Call UPDC at (318) 368-9827 when the app is unavailable or when bond and charge details must be confirmed.
- Use VINE, BOP, or ICE when the person is in state, federal, or immigration custody instead of local parish custody.
The Union Parish County jail inmate records page gives a more detailed channel-by-channel path for app lookup, phone confirmation, public records requests, and state or federal fallback searches.
Union Parish Roster Fields
The app interface could not be fully inspected from public web sources, so only the fields confirmed by official app and sheriff material should be treated as known. This is a research limit, not a reason to invent booking numbers, housing-unit fields, or roster refresh times. The app listing confirms current inmates and booking or release alerts based on name and/or date of birth. UPSO FAQ confirms booking photos are online in the app.
| Field label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Text | Unspecified | App alerts may be created by name. |
| Date of birth | Date or text | Unspecified | App alerts may be created by date of birth. |
| Inmates | App module | n/a | Current inmates booked at Union Parish Detention Center. |
| Alerts | App module | Optional | Booking and release alerts based on name and/or date of birth. |
| Most Wanted | App module | Optional | Feature listed in store material; no separate web table located. |
The official Apple App Store listing for Union Parish Sheriff LA shows the app-based inmate feature and alert tools.
The screenshot supports the research finding that current inmate lookup and booking or release alerts are app-centered rather than exposed as a normal public web roster.
Union Parish Released Records
The research did not locate a published retention period for released inmates in the Union Parish app. It also did not locate a public archive of daily booking reports. For past booking records, use the records-request process instead of relying on the current inmate feature. UPSO accepts requests by mail, email, phone, or in person, and asks requesters to provide name, contact phone, date, location, and the type of report. UPSO asks for five business days once all needed information is received.
Detention commission or Police Jury records follow a different path. The UPPJ public records form can be sent by email, fax, mail, or in person. That channel is useful for UPDC Commission minutes, jail governance, and detention-center administrative records. For formal court charges after arrest, the Clerk and Third Judicial District Attorney records are more useful than a booking roster because they show what was actually filed in court.
Union Parish Inmate Records
A Union Parish inmate record may mean several different things. In the sheriff app, the confirmed material is current custody, app alerts, and booking photos. Through UPDC by phone, families can confirm bond and charge information. Through UPSO Records, a requester may seek arrest or booking reports. Through Clerk Connect, formal charges, minutes, and bench warrant entries may appear after the district attorney files a case.
| Field | What the research confirms |
|---|---|
| Name | Used for app alerts; exact display format not visible in public web sources. |
| Date of birth | Used for app alerts; exact format not visible. |
| Current inmate status | The app lists current inmates booked at UPDC. |
| Booking photo | UPSO FAQ says arrest booking photos are online in the app. |
| Charges and bond | UPDC phone line is the published confirmation route for bond and charges. |
| Formal court charge | Clerk and DA records show charges filed after the arrest, not just booking allegations. |
Union Parish Custody Systems
Different custody systems answer different questions. The county app and jail line are for current local custody. Louisiana VINE and DPS&C locate sentenced custody and provide release or transfer notices. BOP covers federal prisoners from 1982 to present, and ICE covers people in immigration custody. The May 2026 UPDC ICE agreement does not make Union Parish an ICE facility. It allows short-term custody capped at 48 hours.
| Custody type | Where to look | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Local jail custody | Union Parish Sheriff LA app or UPDC phone | Current UPDC bookings, bond, charges, and release status. |
| State custody | Louisiana VINE and DPS&C phone locator | State prisoners and release or transfer alerts. |
| Federal prison | BOP Inmate Locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present. |
| Immigration custody | ICE Online Detainee Locator | ICE detainees by A-number or biographical search. |
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest, including the booking entry required by Louisiana law.
- Detainer
- A hold or notice from another agency that can affect release.
- DOC inmate
- A state-sentenced person under DPS&C authority, even when housed locally.
- TWP
- Transitional Work Program, a sentence-related work program tied to approved local employment.
Union Parish Detention Facility
Union Parish has one facility page in the project map. Union Parish Detention Center is the local jail, state-prison housing site, and transitional work program facility serving the parish. The center holds local pretrial detainees and state/DOC prisoners, and it may briefly hold ICE detainees under the 2026 short-term agreement. No state-operated prison, BOP prison, or ICE detention center is physically located in Union Parish.
- Union Parish Detention Center - local jail, DPS&C local housing, transitional work program, and limited short-term ICE custody.
The DPS&C Union Parish Detention Center Transitional Work Program page lists the same Farmerville address and identifies the site as a TWP location.
The DPS&C listing reinforces that Union Parish lookup can involve both local jail custody and state corrections custody at the same physical facility.
Union Parish Inmate FAQ
How large is the Union Parish County inmate population? The May 12, 2026 UPDC minutes reported 386 people, split between 264 DOC prisoners and 122 pretrial inmates. The 2023 DPS&C monitoring report listed 388 operational capacity and 343 people on the inspection day.
Is there a public web roster? No official public web-based Union Parish jail roster was located. UPSO documents the Union Parish Sheriff LA mobile app as the channel for current inmates and booking photos, with the jail phone line as the fallback.
Who runs the Union Parish jail? Union Parish Detention Center is operated by the Union Parish Detention Center Commission and the Union Parish Police Jury. UPSO says it does not operate the jail.
Where are court charges found after arrest? Formal charges are handled through the Third Judicial District Attorney and the Union Parish Clerk Criminal Department. The Union Parish County court records after jail arrest page explains the arrest-to-court path.
Are booking photos available? UPSO FAQ says arrest booking photos are on the mobile app. The Union Parish County jail roster mugshots page covers the app, records requests, and Louisiana booking-photo law.
What if the person is federal or ICE custody? Use BOP for federal prisoners and the ICE locator for immigration custody. UPDC has no federal prison or ICE detention center in the parish, though a short-term ICE agreement was approved in 2026.