Shelby Facility Jail Overview
Shelby County Correctional Facility, also called the Shelby County Jail on county pages, is a full-service county jail run by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff James R. Frye. The jail holds people arrested in Shelby County who are waiting on court action, serving local sentences, or held for a limited local custody purpose. County research also shows work release and inmate worker positions for qualified people. The jail page says the facility can house males, females, and juveniles for limited time periods, which is different from an Ohio state prison sentence after conviction.
The official jail information page describes the Gearhart Road jail as county-owned and states that it has been in use since the current facility opened. The Sheriff's Office is a round-the-clock public-safety agency, but inmate lookup, visitation, account deposits, bond, and court records each use a different channel. Current county jail custody is checked through the sheriff app, the Miami Valley Jails portal, or the jail phone line. Sentenced Ohio prison custody is searched through ODRC, and federal or immigration custody is not searched through the county jail roster.
The official Shelby County Jail and Offender Information page is the source for the jail capacity, programs, visitation vendor, and roster/app notice shown below.
That county page is important because it ties together the facility, inmate programs, HomeWAV visitation, and the current roster direction in one official place.
Shelby Jail Capacity
The facility has a rated capacity of 188 beds. Shelby County's jail page and jail history page both support that number, and the 2025 ODRC annual inspection wrapper also identifies the recommended housing capacity as 188. Population figures vary by source and date, so they should be read as labeled snapshots. The county jail page inspected in June 2026 stated 165 inmates and a record high of 186 housed. A sheriff overview page states an approximate daily average population of 110. A 2025 Sequential Intercept Mapping planning report snippet listed a current average daily population of 95 and said about one-third of inmates were federal prisoners at that time.
| Population measure | Figure | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Rated capacity | 188 beds | Jail page, jail history page, and ODRC 2025 inspection wrapper |
| Daily population | 165 inmates | County jail page inspected June 24, 2026 |
| Daily average population | About 110 inmates | Sheriff's Office overview page |
| SIM planning snapshot | 95 average daily population | 2025 Sequential Intercept Mapping report snippet |
Shelby Jail Inmate Lookup
Current custody at Shelby County Correctional Facility is checked first through the sheriff app and the Miami Valley Jails Shelby County portal. The county jail page says users should download the Shelby County Sheriff's Office - Ohio app to view the current jail roster. The web portal is titled "Shelby County, Ohio - Persons Currently In Custody" and states that it contains information only on inmates currently in custody in the listed jail or jails. During research, the portal also showed a security check before full roster access, so manual browser use may be needed.
- Start with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office app for iPhone or the Android app, because the county jail page names the app as the current roster channel.
- Use Miami Valley Jails as the official web roster when app access is not practical. Complete the security check by hand if the site asks for it.
- Browse by the first letter of the last name. The visible portal controls show A-Z last-name links and Last / First result orientation.
- If the person is not listed, call the jail at 937-498-7831 or the sheriff main line at 937-498-1111 before assuming the person has been released.
- Use ODRC Offender Search after a state prison transfer, BOP Inmate Locator for sentenced federal custody, and ICE ODLS for immigration custody.
The Miami Valley Jails screenshot in the manifest comes from the official current-custody portal at shelby.miamivalleyjails.org.
The portal is useful for current custody, but its own notice limits the search to listed jail custody and does not replace state, federal, court, or phone checks.
Shelby Facility Contact
Use the jail line for custody, visit, account, and inmate-information questions tied to Shelby County Correctional Facility. Use the sheriff main line for general sheriff business or dispatch routing. The facility is at the sheriff's complex in southern Sidney, not at the downtown courthouse, so bond and court case questions may still need the Clerk of Courts or Sidney Municipal Court after jail staff confirm custody.
Shelby County Correctional Facility
555 Gearhart Road
Sidney, OH 45365
Jail: 937-498-7831
Sheriff main line: 937-498-1111
Jail fax: 937-494-2180
The sheriff staff directory identifies Sheriff James R. Frye and publishes the jail, dispatch, and sheriff contact channels used for custody questions. For PREA reports or jail-operations records noted by the county, Lt. Karla Pleiman is listed as Jail Operations / Inmate Work Crew at 937-494-2106, and the PREA data review contact is sheriff jail records at 937-494-2159. Emergencies should be reported through 911, not through the app, roster, or ordinary jail information line.
Shelby Jail Video Visits
Shelby County uses HomeWAV for video visitation. The county jail page says video visitation was implemented on October 24, 2018. Visitors can sign up through HomeWAV or call 844-394-6639 for support. The county posts both a regular off-site scheduling window and a posted video visitation schedule, so visitors should check the account screen and the jail before planning a visit. Clergy may visit at any time, with advance notice preferred, and ordained clergy should bring proof of clergy status.
| Visit item | Published schedule or detail | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Regular off-site video | Seven days a week, 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. | HomeWAV video |
| Posted video visitation days | Tuesday through Sunday | HomeWAV video |
| Posted video visitation hours | 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on listed days | HomeWAV video |
| HomeWAV support | Mon-Fri 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST; Sat-Sun 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST | Vendor help |
| Clergy | Any time, advance notice preferred | Clergy visit |
Shelby Jail Money
County research documents the inmate account deposit channel, but it did not locate a separate official Shelby County inmate mail rule page. For that reason, mail should be handled with care: confirm the current inmate-mail address, name format, rejected items, photo rules, books, and return-address requirements with jail staff before sending anything. The facility address should not be treated as a full mail-format rule unless the jail confirms it for the person in custody.
| Deposit item | Published Shelby County detail |
|---|---|
| Deposit channel | Direct inmate account deposit or phone 866-394-0490 |
| Required information | Credit or debit card, inmate name, inmate number, facility code, and pay location code 5500 |
| Minimum deposit | $25 |
| Maximum deposit | $100 |
| Phone service fee | 6% of total, $6 minimum |
| Internet service fee | 4.5% of total, $4.50 minimum |
| Weekly transaction maximum | $200 |
The county page also mentions a maximum number of transactions per week, but the visible research snippet was incomplete. That limit should be confirmed with the deposit service or jail staff before repeat deposits are attempted.
Shelby Jail Booking
Local arrests may come from the sheriff, Sidney police, village departments, Ohio State Highway Patrol, or another agency with authority in Shelby County. If the person is booked locally, transport normally goes to Shelby County Correctional Facility unless the person is cited, diverted, hospitalized, or held by another jurisdiction. Intake creates the jail record, and the person may not appear in the app or web roster until identity checks, screening, classification, and data entry are complete.
Ohio jail standards require reception, release, classification, and supervision procedures. The Shelby jail page also identifies Team Health as the medical vendor, with nurses present daily, and Summit Food Service as the meal provider. A booking record is not the same as a court conviction. Misdemeanor cases usually move through Sidney Municipal Court, while felony filings move through the Shelby County Clerk of Courts and Common Pleas Court after prosecutor review.
| Bond topic | Local source detail |
|---|---|
| OR bond | Shelby Clerk lists $63 cash |
| 10% bond | 10% of bond amount cash plus $88 RRF cash |
| Full bond | Full bond amount cash plus $88 RRF cash |
| Surety bond | Surety bond plus $88 RRF cash |
| Custody or holds | Call the jail before payment if another agency hold may block release |
For more detail on custody records after booking, the Shelby County jail inmate records page separates jail lookup, court records, and state or federal locator channels.
Shelby Jail Programs
The jail page and sheriff department pages identify several custody and reentry programs. Qualified inmates may have access to GED programming, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, enrichment classes, work release, and inmate worker positions. The Sheriff's Office also describes an ODOT inmate work crew assigned to debris and trash cleanup along major Shelby County roads, plus a City Work Crew that assists Sidney with maintenance and cleanup. These details matter because they are facility-specific and tied to local custody, not generic prison programming.
Shelby County also operates STAR House, the Shelby County Sheriff's Treatment and Recovery House. The STAR House page describes a structured sober living and treatment setting for formerly incarcerated adult males on community corrections supervision who have substance-use disorders or co-occurring mental-health disorders.
STAR House is not a public jail roster, but it is part of Shelby County's local custody and reentry system for some men after incarceration.
The county PREA page states that Shelby County Jail has zero tolerance for inmate sexual assault, sexual abuse, staff sexual misconduct, and harassment. Reports may be made to Lt. Karla Pleiman at 937-494-2106, to Victim Services, or by calling 937-498-7400. The county says allegations are taken seriously and investigated, and its PREA materials call for training, staffing review, prevention, detection, response, investigation, and data review.
Shelby Jail History
Shelby County's jail history is unusually specific. The prior downtown jail at 203 East Court Street was the fourth incarceration facility in Sidney. County history material says it remains standing, is used for storage, and is on the National Historical Register. That old downtown jail had capacity for only 39 male inmates, which helps explain why the current Gearhart Road facility changed the scale of local detention.
The Shelby County Jail History page shows the move from the old jail to the current facility and identifies the present building as a pod-design jail built for future growth.
The current facility opened in 1994 with 188 beds and was built with a pod layout that could allow expansion if needed. The sheriff overview page says construction was assisted by a one-half percent sales tax. The history also gives readers a practical point: court buildings and older county offices are downtown, but current jail custody is handled at the sheriff's Gearhart Road complex.
Note: Confirm custody, visit status, and mail rules with Shelby County Correctional Facility before travel or mailing.