Powell County Inmate Population Overview
The Powell County inmate population is reported in two local lines by the Kentucky Department of Corrections weekly jail report: Powell, the secure county jail, and Powell RCC, the non-secure local unit associated with the same detention system. The county facility is operated under the Powell County Jailer and is publicly presented by the detention center as both a housing site and a rehabilitation center for local and state inmates. That mix matters. A person booked after a new arrest may be held in the county jail, while a Class D or controlled-intake inmate may be in local custody under state authority.
The count changes when arrests are booked, when judges set or modify bond, when charges are resolved, and when sentenced people move into the Kentucky Department of Corrections system. The county roster is the first place to look for current local custody, but it is not the same as a statewide prison locator or a court case record. Powell County also has no state prison, Bureau of Prisons facility, ICE facility, or U.S. Marshals lockup physically inside the county, so searches outside the local jail must use the correct state, federal, or immigration channel.
Powell County Inmate Population Statistics
The clearest sourced snapshot is the KDOC Weekly Jail Report dated June 4, 2026. It listed Powell at 173 secure jail beds with 187 people reported, putting the main jail 14 over capacity at 108 percent. The same report listed Powell RCC at 40 beds with 32 people reported, or 80 percent capacity. Local fiscal material adds another view: the detention center's 2026 analysis discusses a broader 300-bed operational assumption and says the jail housed an average of 171 state inmates in the prior two years.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Powell secure jail beds | 173 | KDOC Weekly Jail Report, June 4, 2026 |
| Powell reported population | 187 | KDOC Weekly Jail Report, June 4, 2026 |
| Powell capacity status | 14 over, 108% | KDOC Weekly Jail Report, June 4, 2026 |
| Powell RCC beds and population | 40 beds, 32 people | KDOC Weekly Jail Report, June 4, 2026 |
| Average state inmates | 171 in the prior two years | PCDC 2026 General Fiscal Analysis |
| County population context | 13,129 in 2020 | U.S. Census QuickFacts |
Powell County Inmate Population Trends
Powell County's secure jail has stayed above its 173-bed report capacity in the KDOC snapshots captured for this build, while Powell RCC has stayed at or below its 40-bed level. The main jail was farthest over capacity in January 2023, when the weekly report listed 232 people in 173 beds. Later snapshots still show pressure, but the count fell to 187 by June 2026. The RCC line moved from 95 percent in 2023 to a full 100 percent in October 2024, then down to 80 percent in June 2026.
| Date | Powell Jail | Powell RCC | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 5, 2023 | 173 beds / 232 population / 134% | 40 beds / 38 population / 95% | Main jail 59 over capacity. |
| October 3, 2024 | 173 / 190 / 110% | 40 / 40 / 100% | RCC at full reported capacity. |
| April 3, 2025 | 173 / 200 / 116% | 40 / 38 / 95% | Main jail 27 over capacity. |
| June 4, 2026 | 173 / 187 / 108% | 40 / 32 / 80% | Main jail still over, RCC below capacity. |
The 2026 PCDC fiscal analysis adds program and cost trends. It reports recidivism cases dropping from 148 in 2022 to 90 in 2026, with stays longer than 120 days dropping from 44 to 17. It also reports $10,527,154 in revenue generated from 2023 through 2026 and states that local work crews average 14 full-time laborers per week for county and community projects.
Who Makes Up the Powell County Inmate Population
The June 4, 2026 KDOC report breaks Powell's main jail population into secure and non-secure groups by sex and custody category. The secure male count was the largest group, followed by secure female and non-secure male counts. Powell RCC was reported as non-secure male population only. These numbers do not identify people by name; they describe the custody mix that makes up the Powell County inmate population on a specific report date.
- Secure male population: 141 people, including 68 Class D inmates, one alternative-sentence inmate, and 10 controlled-intake inmates.
- Secure female population: 19 people, including two Class D inmates and one controlled-intake inmate.
- Non-secure local population: 24 males and three females in the main Powell row, all marked CC eligible.
- Powell RCC population: 32 non-secure males, with eight Class D inmates and 24 CC eligible inmates.
- Federal inmates: KDOC reported zero federal inmates in both Powell and Powell RCC on June 4, 2026.
Powell County Jail Capacity
Capacity wording needs care in Powell County because different official materials use different frames. The KDOC weekly report is the formal statewide reporting source for jail beds and population, and it lists 173 secure beds for Powell plus 40 beds for Powell RCC. The detention center's own services and fiscal materials discuss roughly 300 inmates or a 300-bed facility assumption when describing broader operations, programs, and cost comparisons. Those statements are not identical measures, so public pages should not merge them into one unqualified capacity number.
A practical reading is that the official jail-population table showed the main jail over its reported bed capacity in each captured year, while the separate RCC line provided non-secure capacity for eligible local or state inmates. That helps explain why the local site emphasizes programs, treatment, work crews, and reentry work. Population pressure is not just a head count problem. It affects housing, classification, medical screening, video visitation, mail handling, and the speed of records requests.
Laws Governing Powell County Inmate Records
Kentucky law treats many jail and court records as public records, but it also allows limits for security, expunged material, and some inmate or facility records. That means Powell County inmate population data can be public in aggregate while a specific record may require a request, may be partly withheld, or may need to be verified with the office that created it.
Key Kentucky rules:
KRS 61.870 defines public records and includes booking photographs and inmate photographic records in the statutory language.
KRS 197.025 allows corrections officials to restrict inmate and facility records when release would threaten security and keeps expunged material closed.
501 KAR 3:120 covers admission, searches, and release procedures for full-service Kentucky jails.
KRS 61.8746 restricts commercial use of booking or inmate photos when removal requires payment.
Powell County and State Prison Search
No adult state prison is located in Powell County, but Powell County inmates may become KDOC inmates after sentencing or transfer. The Kentucky Online Offender Lookup is the state search tool for sentenced or state offenders. KOOL is separate from the county resident directory. It is useful when a person drops from the local roster after state movement, when a Class D or controlled-intake question becomes a state custody question, or when a former-offender record must be requested from KDOC Offender Information Services.
KOOL data is updated four times daily according to the KDOC FAQ, and photos are available for most offenders but are not guaranteed. Federal custody is different again. The BOP inmate locator covers federal inmates from 1982 to present, while immigration custody is searched through ICE ODLS. A local detainer or hold does not always mean a person appears in those outside systems right away.
Search the Powell County Inmate Population
The official starting point is the Powell County Detention Center homepage, which links to the Cadmus Scribe resident directory. Static research could not verify the live directory's exact search fields or profile fields, so the safest search path is to use the fields shown by the live app, then confirm uncertain results with the detention center. The county page uses the term resident directory, but it serves the same user need as a jail roster search for current local custody.
The official PCDC homepage screenshot in the capture set shows the service links that lead users to the resident directory, app, commissary, phone, and visitation tools.
View the official Powell County Detention Center homepage source.
The screenshot is useful because Powell County routes several inmate-population tasks through the jail site rather than one single statewide portal.
- Open the detention center homepage and choose the Resident Directory link.
- Use the search controls shown in the live Cadmus app.
- Check spelling, aliases, and recent booking timing if no result appears.
- Call PCDC at (606) 663-6400 if the person may be released, transferred, or held under another agency.
- Use KOOL, VINELink, BOP, or ICE ODLS when the local roster does not match the custody type.
Current Powell County Inmate Lookup
Because the Cadmus directory is a dynamic app, the research captured only a partial field inventory. The page should not promise a last-name box, a booking-number field, a date-of-birth filter, a mugshot field, or a refresh schedule unless the live app shows those controls at the moment of search. If the directory does not load or does not show the person, the jail phone line and local open-records request form are the next county-level channels.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not captured | Dynamic Blazor app | Not captured | The official URL loaded an app shell in static research; use the fields shown live. |
For sentenced Kentucky offenders, KOOL has a better documented field set. It can search last, first, and middle name, include aliases, filter to offenders with photos, and narrow by location when available.
Past Powell County Inmate Records
Released people may not remain visible in the resident directory, and the research did not verify a public archive of old Powell County booking profiles. For older jail records, use the PCDC contact page's open-records request form and describe the specific record needed: booking sheet, booking photograph, arresting agency, intake date, charge list as booked, bond sheet, or release and transfer record. Include the person's full name, date of birth if known, and approximate arrest or booking date.
State offender records should be requested from KDOC when the person has moved into state custody or the record is not a local jail file. KDOC says offender-record requests should include the full offender name plus date of birth or offender identification number and may be sent by email, mail, or fax.
Powell County Inmate Record Fields
Do not assume every Powell County roster profile shows the same fields that appear in other counties. The official resident directory is the right online starting point for current custody, but the research did not capture a full sample profile. The table below separates what was verified from what may need a phone call or records request.
| Record Item | How to Verify It |
|---|---|
| Current custody | Check the resident directory first, then call PCDC if the result is unclear. |
| Booking sheet | Request from PCDC through the contact/open-records form. |
| Charge list as booked | Ask PCDC for the jail record, then compare with court records after filing. |
| Bond or hold status | Confirm with PCDC or Powell Circuit Court Clerk before paying or traveling. |
| Release or transfer | Use jail phone, PCDC records request, KOOL, or VINELink depending on the custody path. |
| Booking photo | Try the directory, then ask PCDC whether the photo is released by request. |
Powell County Jail vs Prison
Many bad inmate searches start with the wrong system. Powell County Detention Center and Powell RCC are local custody channels. KOOL is the Kentucky state offender locator. BOP and ICE are federal channels. A person may move through more than one of these systems after arrest, especially if a local sentence, state commitment, federal case, parole issue, or immigration detainer is involved.
| Custody Type | Who It Covers | Where to Look |
|---|---|---|
| County jail | New arrests, pretrial detainees, local inmates, some state and Class D inmates | PCDC resident directory and jail phone |
| Powell RCC | Non-secure local/RCC population, mostly Class D or CC eligible inmates | PCDC channels unless a separate RCC source is later verified |
| State prison | Sentenced Kentucky offenders after DOC processing | Kentucky Online Offender Lookup |
| Federal or immigration | BOP inmates, USMS pretrial custody, or ICE detainees | BOP locator, USMS district contacts, or ICE ODLS |
Powell County Detention Facilities
Powell County's facility map has two local entries. Both connect back to the detention center's public channels, but they should not be flattened into one line because KDOC reports separate population and capacity figures for the secure jail and the RCC component.
- Powell County Detention Center - the secure county jail in Stanton for local pretrial detainees, county inmates, state inmates, Class D inmates, controlled intake, and related holds.
- Powell RCC - a separate KDOC-reported 40-bed non-secure local line associated with Powell County Detention Center services and contact channels.
Powell County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Powell County inmate population? On June 4, 2026, KDOC listed 187 people in the main Powell jail row and 32 in the Powell RCC row. The main jail was 14 over its 173-bed report capacity, while RCC was below its 40-bed capacity.
How do I search the Powell County inmate population? Start with the PCDC resident directory linked from the detention center homepage. If the person is not shown, call the jail, use the local open-records form, check KOOL for state custody, and use VINELink for notification.
Can I look up a released inmate? The research did not verify a public archive of released Powell County profiles. Ask PCDC for specific booking or release records, or use KDOC records if the person moved into state custody.
Does Powell County have a mobile app? The detention center advertises a PCDC web app through Jotform/PWA for resident directory access, visitation scheduling, commissary and phone funding, and employment applications. No native app-store listing was verified.