Pulaski County Detention Center Inmate Search

Pulaski County Detention Center Overview

The Pulaski County Detention Center is operated under the county sheriff's structure, with Sheriff Randy Kern and Chief Deputy Daric Smith named on the official county site. It is a 240-bed county jail in Ullin, and the county's detention page says it houses people for Pulaski County, for neighboring Alexander County, and for the United States Marshals Service. That contract role means the population is a mix of local pretrial defendants, out-of-county detainees, and federal detainees waiting on a federal court.

The facility's identity has shifted in federal records over the years, appearing as Pulaski County Jail and, in older documents, as the former Tri-County Detention Center. The current county website uses Pulaski County Detention Center, and that is the name and description that controls the live local facility. The building has a controlled-entry setup, with visitor search and security processing, reflecting its role as a regional detention point rather than a small holding cell.

The Illinois Sheriffs' Association lists the same jail and bed count and gives the clearest driving note found for the facility.

The Illinois Sheriffs' Association Pulaski County page names Sheriff Randy Kern, lists the 240-bed jail, and gives directions from Interstate 57.

That profile is a useful cross-check on the bed count and the route to the jail near Exit 181.

Pulaski County Detention Center Capacity and Population

The rated capacity is 240 beds, confirmed by both the official county page and the Illinois Sheriffs' Association. The Vera Institute's county dataset recorded a total jail population of 214 in 2019, against that 240-bed capacity, which worked out to about 89 percent utilization. A current daily count was not published by the county, the state jail standards unit, or national jail data sources when this page was prepared, so only the sourced historical figures are shown.

Read the population as a facility figure, not as a count of Pulaski County residents in jail. In the Vera years a large share came from a federal immigration contract, so the numbers reflect the building's contract role more than local arrests.

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

Because the county has no confirmed public roster, the lookup runs through the jail and the right outside system. Use the correct channel for where the person is in the process.

1. Call the detention center at 618-845-3512 to confirm custody and ask which authority holds the person.
2. For records not given by phone, send a written FOIA request to the detention center's FOIA officer.
3. For sentenced state prisoners, use the Illinois Department of Corrections Individual in Custody Search.
4. For federal or immigration custody, use the federal Bureau of Prisons locator or the ICE detainee locator.

Step-by-step help for each of these channels, including what to put in a records request, is on the jail inmate records page.

Pulaski County Detention Center Address and Contact

The jail in Ullin is separate from the county courthouse and sheriff administrative offices in Mound City, so use the detention center address for anything tied to custody, visits, or jail records.

Directions and Parking at the Detention Center

The detention center sits near Interstate 57 outside Ullin, which is the marker the Illinois Sheriffs' Association uses instead of a cross street. From I-57, take Exit 181 near Ullin, turn west about one-quarter mile, then turn left into the detention center. From Mound City and the courthouse area, head north and northwest toward Ullin and the interstate. From Cairo and Alexander County, travel north toward Ullin, since the jail also holds Alexander County detainees.

No official parking map, rates, or visitor-parking limits were published, so confirm parking at the facility before arriving and allow time for security processing. No official public-transit route to the jail was found on county, court, or state pages, so plan to drive or arrange transportation. The broader county custody picture is on the inmate population overview.

Visiting Someone at the Pulaski County Detention Center

The official visitation sheet sets social visits for Friday evenings and both weekend days, with shorter midday blocks on the weekend. Each detainee is allotted 30 minutes, and visitors must arrive 45 minutes early for security processing. All family and social visits are non-contact. Adults need valid, verifiable government-issued ID, and minors must be with an adult guardian. Attorneys, consular officials, and clergy may visit at other times with advance arrangements. Call 618-845-3512 before traveling, since schedules can change for staffing, holidays, or facility status.

Visitors may be searched on entry, may not pass items to detainees, and may not bring weapons or electronic devices into secure areas. A visitor who is or appears intoxicated will not be admitted, and refusing a reasonable search means no visit.

Professional visits work differently. Attorneys and paralegals may visit clients at any time but should call 618-845-3512 ahead to schedule. Consular officials may meet detained nationals at any time, with prior arrangements requested when possible. Clergy may visit at any time after arranging it through the Chaplain's Office. These categories are not limited to the weekend social-visit blocks.

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

Families send money and commissary funds through the channels the county lists. When its electronic vendor is down, the county directs money to be sent only as a U.S. Postal Money Order, addressed to the inmate at the jail. The county links JailATM for commissary deposits. No Pulaski-specific deposit fee, spending limit, or phone vendor was published, so confirm current options by calling the jail.

Release still depends on the court's pretrial order, not on a payment alone, so confirm status with the jail before sending funds.

Booking and Intake at the Pulaski County Detention Center

A person arrested in the county or delivered on a warrant is taken to the detention center if jail custody is required. At intake, staff identify the person, search for contraband, inventory property, run a medical and security screening, photograph and fingerprint where required, open a custody record, note the arresting agency and any hold, and classify the person for housing. Because the facility holds for more than one authority, intake may involve a local charge, an Alexander County case, or federal hold paperwork.

After booking, the record path splits. Local cases route to the Pulaski County Circuit Clerk and Judici, federal cases route to U.S. District Court and the Marshals Service, and a state sentence routes to the Illinois Department of Corrections. No official source states how fast a booking would appear online, because no online roster was confirmed, so the jail phone line is the direct source for current custody.

About the Pulaski County Detention Center

The county detention page links PREA information and a signed 2025 annual PREA report, which supports sexual-abuse reporting and detention accountability. It also links an NCCHC health-care document. The facility carries a notable federal history: during an earlier ICE-contract period, federal inspectors reviewed conditions at the jail, and a 2021 Department of Homeland Security inspector general report found violations of ICE detention standards there. Those records are historical federal oversight from the ICE era, not a current finding about all county operations, and the county page now lists Pulaski County, Alexander County, and U.S. Marshals housing rather than ICE.

The Homeland Security oversight report is part of the public record on the facility's ICE-contract years.

The DHS Office of Inspector General report documents ICE detention-standard violations found at Pulaski County Jail during the contract period.

That report is useful for facility history and should be read as a dated, ICE-era oversight document.