Benewah County Jail Overview
Benewah County Jail is a sheriff-run county jail operated by the Benewah County Sheriff's Office. The official county sheriff page identifies Sheriff Anthony Eells and lists the sheriff's office at 701 W College Ave, Suite 301, St Maries, ID 83861, phone 208-245-2555. The Idaho Sheriffs' Association jail directory also lists Benewah County Jail at that address and identifies Lt. Clint Aldrich as jail administrator.
The facility type is county jail, not state prison, federal prison, or a dedicated ICE detention center. It serves local county-jail functions for pretrial detainees, people serving local jail sentences, and short-term holds from local law-enforcement activity. Arrests may involve the Benewah County Sheriff's Office, St. Maries Police Department, Plummer Police Department, Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police, Idaho State Police, or another lawful arresting agency. Tribal jurisdiction can affect the next record path when Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police or tribal court is involved.
The county jail, court clerk, and prosecutor are all in the same West College Avenue county-government complex in St. Maries. The sheriff's office is Suite 301, the Benewah County Clerk/Court is Suite 203, and the prosecutor is Suite 201. That proximity is useful for follow-up, but it does not mean every jail record is available at the court counter or every court filing is available from jail staff.
The official Benewah County Sheriff's Office page is the local source for sheriff contact information. The county sheriff page lists the office address, phone, and sheriff.
Because the sheriff's office operates the jail and no official roster was located, this contact page is the practical first stop for current custody questions.
Benewah County Jail Capacity and Population
The Idaho Sheriffs' Association directory gives the available facility population figures for Benewah County Jail: rated capacity 16 and average daily population 12. Those numbers describe a small local jail and should not be treated as a real-time headcount. No official local roster, annual admissions table, demographic breakdown, housing-unit count, or current-population dashboard was located in the official county sources reviewed.
Using those directory figures, the listed ADP is 75 percent of rated capacity. That is a simple calculation from the directory values, not a published overcrowding finding or daily jail report. The research did not locate official Benewah County data for annual bookings, average length of stay, gender breakdown, pretrial/sentenced split, or holds for other agencies.
The statewide jail directory is the source that publishes Benewah County Jail capacity and average daily population. The Idaho Sheriffs' Association jail directory lists the Benewah County entry.
The directory also supports the key local distinction: Benewah County Jail has no listed jail website, so users should not expect an official web roster.
Look Up Benewah County Jail Inmates
No official online Benewah County Jail roster, recent-bookings list, or sheriff inmate-search portal was located. The official sheriff page is a contact page, and the Idaho Sheriffs' Association directory marks the jail as having no website. For a current Benewah County Jail inmate lookup, use the sheriff/jail phone number first and then written public-records channels if a copy of a booking record, mugshot, or incident report is needed.
- Call Benewah County Sheriff's Office / Jail at 208-245-2555 and ask for the jail, booking desk, or detention staff if the main line is answered by dispatch or administration.
- Provide the person's full legal name, date of birth if known, and approximate arrest or booking date. Ask whether the person is currently in Benewah County Jail, released, transferred, or held for another agency.
- Ask whether bond or release information is available by phone, and confirm whether another hold prevents release.
- If staff cannot release the requested details by phone, ask how to submit an Idaho public-records request for the booking record, booking photo, arrest report, or incident report.
- After charges are filed, use court records after a jail arrest and Idaho iCourt to follow the formal case, filed charges, hearings, and disposition.
If the person has been sentenced to Idaho Department of Correction custody, use the IDOC Resident/Client Search. If the person is in federal sentenced custody, use the BOP Inmate Locator. If immigration detention is involved, use ICE ODLS. These systems are separate from Benewah County Jail and should not be used as proof that a newly arrested person is or is not in the county jail.
Who Is Held at Benewah County Jail
Benewah County Jail holds a local county-jail population. That includes people awaiting first appearance or later hearings, people held on local warrants, people serving county jail sentences, and short-term holds for local law enforcement when lawful authority exists. Idaho county jail law also recognizes that county jails may receive people committed by competent authority and, in some circumstances, federal prisoners under lawful authority, but the research did not locate an official standing federal contract population for Benewah County Jail.
A person arrested in Benewah County may not stay in the county jail for the whole case. Release on bond, transfer to another county, transfer under tribal or federal authority, movement to IDOC after sentencing, or release after dismissal can change the correct lookup path. VINELink can be useful for custody or court notifications when a person appears in participating systems, but it is not a substitute for confirming Benewah County Jail custody directly with the jail.
Benewah County Jail Address and Contact
Use the jail and sheriff's office contact for current custody, booking, visiting, mail, money, and facility-entry questions. Use the clerk and iCourt for case filings after the prosecutor files charges.
Benewah County Jail
701 W. College Ave, Suite 301
St. Maries, ID 83861
208-245-2555
Call to confirm jail services, custody status, and visitor requirements.
Benewah County Clerk/Court
701 W College Ave, Suite 203
St Maries, ID 83861
208-245-3241
Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Visiting Someone at Benewah County Jail
No official Benewah County Jail visitation schedule, video-visit vendor, lobby hours, visitor-approval form, dress-code page, or child-visitor rule was located. Do not borrow schedules or rules from another Idaho county. Call 208-245-2555 before traveling and ask whether visits are currently available, whether the visit is in person or video, what identification is required, whether the inmate's housing or classification affects the schedule, and what items are prohibited.
| Visitation Item | Official Benewah Source Located? | Practical Route |
|---|---|---|
| In-person schedule | No published local schedule located | Call 208-245-2555 before arriving. |
| Video visits | No video vendor located | Ask whether video visits exist and whether scheduling is required. |
| Visitor approval | No local form located | Ask whether visitors must be approved in advance. |
| Identification | No local ID rule located | Bring government-issued ID and confirm any additional requirements. |
| Dress code and property | No local rule page located | Do not bring weapons, contraband, recording devices, or unnecessary property into a jail/court facility. |
Benewah County Jail Mail and Money
No official Benewah County Jail mail format, phone provider, commissary vendor, money-deposit vendor, kiosk location, fee schedule, or lobby-hours page was located. That means family members should confirm the exact format and payment route by phone before sending mail or money. A small error in inmate name, booking number, facility address, or permitted payment method can delay delivery or cause rejection.
| Service | Published Local Detail | What to Ask the Jail |
|---|---|---|
| Mail Address | No official mail format located | Ask for the exact inmate mail format, whether a booking number is required, and what items are allowed. |
| Phone Calls | No phone provider located | Ask how newly booked inmates can call, whether voicemail exists, and whether accounts are required. |
| Money Deposits | No vendor or fee table located | Ask where deposits are accepted, accepted payment types, fees, limits, and whether the person must be fully booked first. |
| Commissary | No vendor located | Ask whether commissary is available and how account balances are handled after release or transfer. |
| Attorney Visits | No local policy located | Attorneys should coordinate directly with sheriff/jail staff. |
IDOC mail, visiting, and money rules are different. Once a person is in state custody, use IDOC resident services and the IDOC facility mailing address with the resident's IDOC number. Federal and immigration systems also have their own rules, and Benewah County Jail staff may not be able to answer questions after transfer.
Booking and Intake at Benewah County Jail
Benewah County has not published a local booking policy in the official sources reviewed, so the intake description should be treated as general Idaho county-jail process context. A typical booking begins when the arresting agency transports the person to jail or another lawful holding location. Jail staff verify identity, check warrants and holds, inventory property, complete safety screening, take fingerprints and booking photographs when required, enter booking charges, and determine whether the person can be released or must remain held for court.
The prosecutor's role comes after investigation. The Benewah County Prosecutor page says the office receives and screens reports for criminal charges after an investigation is complete. That is why a jail booking charge may differ from the complaint, information, indictment, or amended charge later shown in iCourt. For a recent booking, call the jail first; for filed charges, use the clerk and iCourt after the case opens.
Directions, Parking, and Arrival Notes
Use 701 W. College Ave, Suite 301, St. Maries, ID 83861 for mapping to the sheriff/jail address. Visitors coming from north or northwest Benewah County generally route toward St. Maries and the county-government complex on College Avenue. Visitors coming from Plummer and the Coeur d'Alene Reservation area should also confirm the St. Maries address before traveling because tribal-police or tribal-court matters may involve a different agency contact.
The official prosecutor page notes that court parking is available in front of the courthouse and along 7th Avenue and College Avenue. That is a courthouse parking note, not a published jail-visitation parking policy. No jail-specific public transit, visitor entrance, ADA entrance, or lobby-hours instructions were located. Call the sheriff's office before arrival if accessible parking, visitor entry, or transportation timing matters.
About Benewah County Jail Records
Benewah County Jail records are local custody records, while Idaho iCourt records are court records and IDOC records are state correctional records. A person can move between those systems as a case develops. Current county jail custody starts with the sheriff/jail phone line. Formal filed charges move to iCourt and the Benewah County Clerk. Sentenced state custody moves to IDOC. Federal sentenced custody moves to BOP, and immigration custody moves to ICE ODLS. Tribal jurisdiction may require Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police or tribal court contact rather than county-only lookup.
Note: Confirm custody, visiting, mail, and money procedures with Benewah County Jail before traveling or sending funds.