Look Up Inmates at the Main Detention Unit

St. Johns County Main Detention Unit Overview

The Main Detention Unit is operated by the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division. It is the intake and pretrial hub for the county, holding men and women who are waiting for a pretrial hearing and keeping them until they are sentenced, released, or moved as the courts direct. Because every county arrest is processed here, it is the right first place to search for a recently booked person, whether the arrest was made by the Sheriff, St. Augustine Police, or St. Augustine Beach Police.

The Sheriff lists the unit as a 664-bed facility. The 2025 inmate handbook describes it as the Main Unit and notes that it houses pretrial, sentenced, and direct-filed juvenile inmates under jail rules. Classification assigns housing after intake, and the Corrections Division provides care, custody, and control along with medical and program services. The facility sits on the Lewis Speedway complex alongside the courthouse and the Sheriff's headquarters.

Inside, the handbook describes a routine built around classification, inmate tablets, and structured access to services. Tablets are used for inmate requests, messaging, and legal research, and a sick-call process routes medical needs to nursing staff. The unit's pretrial focus shapes daily life, since many residents are held only until a court resolves bond or the case itself. The shared Lewis Speedway location keeps the jail, the courthouse at 4010 Lewis Speedway, and the Sheriff's headquarters at 4015 Lewis Speedway within the same compact public-safety area, which is convenient for families handling both custody and court matters in one trip.

Main Detention Unit Capacity and Population

The Sheriff lists the Main Detention Unit at 664 beds, the larger of the county's two adult facilities. A county-wide average daily population of 357 was reported by the state for December 2024, and most of that count is held at the main unit. The figures below carry their source so each can be checked.

The December 2024 county population came in below the combined 764 adult beds, so the jail was not at capacity in that period. About 51.8 percent of that population was pretrial, which matches the unit's role as the county's pretrial holding facility.

How to Look Up an Inmate at the Main Detention Unit

Use the county jail roster, since this is a county facility rather than a state prison. The Sheriff's inmate search page is the official online path, and the booking line covers recent arrests. During research the online roster was offline, so the phone fallback carries a recent booking.

1. Open the Sheriff's inmate search page and use the roster when it is online.
2. Search by the inmate's last name, then add a first name for a common name.
3. For a recent arrest or bond question, call Booking at 904-209-3125.
4. For a booking report or an older record, file a request with the Records Unit at 904-810-6610.

If a person was sentenced to state prison, they leave this unit and are found through the Florida Department of Corrections instead. The full channel list is on the jail inmate records page.

Main Detention Unit Address and Contact

The Main Detention Unit shares the Lewis Speedway public-safety complex. The detention line handles general jail questions, booking handles bond, and a separate line handles inmate property pickup on weekdays.

The Sheriff's Corrections Division page lists the detention, booking, and nursing numbers and describes the unit's services.

Inmate property pickup is scheduled at 904-209-1430 on weekdays, and callers are told to confirm a property release form is on file before arriving.

Visiting Someone at the Main Detention Unit

The unit uses on-site video and remote video visits through Smart Communications. On-site visits run weekdays in morning and afternoon blocks and are free. Remote visits run seven days a week, add an evening block, and carry a per-minute charge. Every visitor needs an approved account, must schedule in advance, and should arrive at least 15 minutes early.

Anyone with a no-contact order or injunction against the inmate cannot visit, and recording or rebroadcasting a video visit is prohibited.

Mail, Phone, and Money at the Main Detention Unit

Non-legal mail runs through Smart Communications, which scans regular mail for inmates to read on tablets and destroys the original after 30 days. Phone and messaging use SmartJailMail accounts. Money can be added at the lobby kiosk, the Video Visitation Center, or online through JailATM, which takes Visa and MasterCard and shows the fee before you confirm.

Do not mail original documents like birth certificates or Social Security cards, since originals are destroyed after scanning.

Booking and Intake at the Main Detention Unit

A person arrested in the county is transported to the Main Detention Unit for intake. Staff identify the person, inventory property, and run medical and mental-health screening, with a nursing line listed at 904-209-1986. Classification then assigns housing. Bond questions go to Booking at 904-209-3125, and after a first appearance or filing, court dates move to the Clerk of Courts.

Because the roster refresh rate was not published and the search was offline during research, a person booked in the last few hours may not show online right away. The booking line is the better check for an urgent bond or custody question.

Reentry and Daily Conditions at the Main Unit

The Sheriff frames the jail's reentry work in numbers. The 2023 annual report listed 369 reentry assessments, 106 housing assists, 123 employment placements, 135 identification assists, and 18 GED completions for the year. The agency began renovating a building tied to the main jail into a Re-Entry Center to support career and housing fairs, a Tax Collector identification room, and a computer lab for GED testing and job applications. A K9s For Warriors program also serves sentenced inmates.

Daily conditions are set out in the 2025 inmate handbook. New arrivals get a medical screening at entry and PREA screening during classification, and a mental-health and suicide hotline is reachable through option 7 on inmate phones. Inmates are issued basic hygiene supplies and shower at least twice a week, uniforms and white laundry are washed twice weekly, sheets are exchanged weekly, and blankets monthly. The handbook also lists an inmate tip line at 904-209-1564 for reporting criminal activity, where callers give a name and inmate number.

About the Main Detention Unit

The Sheriff's Office describes a strong program slate at the jail. Its Corrections Division says nine organizations run more than 15 recovery, education, and certificate programs, with 16 churches and ministries represented and two part-time chaplains. Named programs include Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, GED, Parenting, Anger Management, and Domestic Violence Prevention. The agency reports a record 22 GED credentials earned in 2025 through First Coast Technical College.

The Sheriff's Office holds state and international accreditation and uses the phrase First on the First Coast. Recent reports describe expanded reentry work, helping people leave custody with identification and a transition plan. Sentenced men who qualify may move from this unit to the Community Work Release Center.