Venango County Inmate Population Overview
The Venango County inmate population is housed locally at Venango County Prison in Franklin. The county prison is the only detention facility located for Venango County in the official county, Pennsylvania DOC, federal Bureau of Prisons, ICE, and U.S. Marshals sources reviewed for this build. That makes the local map simple, but it also raises a common search problem. A person arrested in Venango County may be in the county prison before trial, may later transfer to a Pennsylvania DOC prison after sentencing, or may be in a federal or immigration system that does not use the county jail roster.
Local jail population figures count people held in the county correctional institution. They do not count every person from Venango County who is serving a state sentence, nor do they include people held by the Bureau of Prisons or ICE. Venango County Prison handles pretrial detainees who cannot make bail, people serving county sentences, people awaiting state-prison transport, probation or parole violators, civil or domestic-relations contemnors, and certain juveniles charged as adults when state law and the District Attorney's decision allow that path.
The county prison page publishes the facility contact information and leadership, while the Pennsylvania DOC Office of County Inspections and Services supplies statewide county-prison oversight context. Court charges after arrest sit in the Pennsylvania court system, not inside a county roster. That is why a complete Venango County inmate search uses the jail, VINE, UJS Case Search, the Clerk of Courts, and the PA DOC locator in the right order.
Venango County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest Venango County inmate population figures come from official county prison-board minutes, the county prison FAQ, and the Pennsylvania DOC county correctional facility listing. The DOC listing gives the rated capacity. The Board of Inspectors minutes give recent meeting-date counts and one monthly average in-house figure. These are not full annual jail census tables, so they should be read as official snapshots rather than a year-end average daily population series.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Rated capacity | 174 beds | Pennsylvania DOC county correctional facility address/contact listing, downloaded June 2026 |
| Jail count | 111 | Venango County Board of Inspectors minutes, February 4, 2025 |
| Jail count | 119 | Venango County Board of Inspectors minutes, January 6, 2026 |
| Average in-house population | 114 | Venango County Board of Inspectors minutes, January 6, 2026, reporting November average |
| Jail count | 119 | Venango County Board of Inspectors minutes, February 3, 2026 |
| Average length of stay | About 60 days | Venango County Prison FAQ |
| Median length of stay | About 9 to 12 months | Venango County Prison FAQ |
Venango County Jail Counts
Recent official Venango County jail counts show a facility operating below its rated capacity on the dates captured in the research. A count of 111 against 174 beds is about 64 percent of capacity. A count of 119 is about 68 percent. The reported average in-house population of 114 for November is about 66 percent of capacity. Those percentages are useful for capacity context, but they should not be treated as a legal occupancy limit or a full-year trend line.
| Date or Period | Count or ADP | Operational Note |
|---|---|---|
| February 4, 2025 | 111 | Board minutes also noted staffing progress and planned 12-step programming. |
| January 6, 2026 | 119 count, 114 November average | The reported count included 92 male and 27 female inmates. |
| February 3, 2026 | 119 | Minutes introduced Jason Batykefer as warden and noted correctional employment was rising. |
Venango County has a second population story outside the jail walls. The Prison Policy Initiative's 2020 Pennsylvania county-origin report listed Venango County's state-prison imprisonment rate at 452 per 100,000 county residents. That figure is not the county jail population. It measures people from the county in Pennsylvania state prisons and explains why the PA DOC Inmate and Parolee Locator may be the right tool after sentencing and transfer.
Who Is in Venango County Custody
The Venango County inmate population is mixed. It is not limited to people who have been convicted. The county FAQ says Venango County Prison holds pretrial detainees who cannot make bond, inmates awaiting transport to a state correctional facility, district-magistrate summary or misdemeanor-third-degree sentences, civil or domestic-relations commitments, protection-from-abuse contemnors, probation or parole violators, county-sentenced inmates, and limited adult-prosecuted juvenile commitments.
The only current official sex breakdown located in the research was the January 6, 2026 Board of Inspectors report of 119 total inmates, with 92 male and 27 female. Official sources located for this project did not publish a current race, ethnicity, age-band, annual-booking, felony/misdemeanor, or pretrial-versus-sentenced percentage table. When those details matter for a specific person, the safer path is the court docket, the Clerk of Courts, or a formal county records request.
Population note: A county jail count and a state-prison origin rate answer different questions, so they should not be combined into one total.
Laws Behind Venango Inmate Records
Pennsylvania public-record access starts with the Right-to-Know Law, but jail and criminal-justice records have limits. Venango County does not publish an official online roster in the sources reviewed, so records access often moves through custody confirmation, court docket lookup, and the county Right-to-Know process. A request may still be denied or redacted when another statute, a law-enforcement exemption, a court rule, a juvenile-record rule, or a security concern applies.
Key Authorities:
Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, Act 3 of 2008 sets the request and appeal process for local agency records.
Pennsylvania CHRIA governs criminal-history record information and can affect booking-record and mugshot release questions.
37 Pa. Code Chapter 95 supplies statewide standards for county correctional institutions.
37 Pa. Code section 95.222 addresses admission and release policy, including searches, documentation, property inventory, and release checks.
Search the Venango County Inmate Population
No official Venango County online jail roster, current-inmate search form, booking report, or mugshot gallery was located on the county website during the official-source sweep. That changes the search order. For current county custody, the first official channel is Venango County Prison. VINE can help with custody status and notifications. UJS Case Search tracks court charges after filing. The PA DOC locator is for state-sentenced inmates and parolees, not people still held in the county jail.
- Call Venango County Prison at 814-432-9629 for current custody questions tied to the local jail.
- Use Pennsylvania VINE for custody-status and notification options.
- Search UJS Case Search for filed charges, docket sheets, bail events, and court dates.
- Contact the Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts when certified or older criminal case records are needed.
- Use the PA DOC, BOP, or ICE locator only when the person is in state, federal, or immigration custody.
Venango County Roster Fields
The official county pages reviewed for Venango County do not expose a public inmate-profile page. Because of that, the site should not promise public fields such as booking number, housing unit, charge list, bond amount, mugshot, or release date from a county roster. Those facts may exist in jail or court systems, but the public path depends on the type of record requested.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not available | Not available | Not available | No official Venango County jail roster search form was located on the county site. |
A current custody question belongs with the prison phone line or VINE. A charge question belongs with UJS Case Search or the Clerk of Courts. A booking-record request that is not posted online belongs with Venango County's Right-to-Know request process, subject to Pennsylvania criminal-justice record limits.
Venango Jail vs State Prison
The most common search error is using the wrong custody system. Venango County Prison is a local county facility. PA DOC is a statewide prison and parole system. Federal Bureau of Prisons and ICE searches are separate again. A person can move from one system to another as a case develops, especially after sentencing, transfer, parole, a federal hold, or an immigration detainer.
| Custody Type | Correct Channel | Use It For |
|---|---|---|
| County jail custody | Venango County Prison and VINE | Pretrial detainees, county sentences, local holds, release status |
| Filed criminal case | UJS Case Search and Clerk of Courts | Charges, docket events, bail, hearings, dispositions |
| State sentence or parole | PA DOC Inmate and Parolee Locator | State-sentenced inmates and parolees after transfer or supervision |
| Federal sentence | BOP Inmate Locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator System | ICE detainee location searches, not county booking photos |
Venango County Detention Facility
Venango County has one detention facility in the Facility Map. Venango County Prison is the local county correctional institution in Franklin. It holds people awaiting adjudication, people serving county sentences, people awaiting state transfer, and several other commitment categories listed in county FAQ material. No separate state prison, federal prison, ICE detention center, regional jail, or stand-alone work-release building was located in Venango County from the official sources reviewed.
- Venango County Prison - county correctional institution for local pretrial, county-sentenced, violation, civil, and transfer custody.
The official prison page is also the best starting point for family and friend rules. The county inmate contact page, visitation page, inmate finances page, and new commitments page provide the operational rules that a roster usually does not explain.
Venango Booking and Release
Venango County's new-commitment and release pages give local detail about jail intake and exit. New commitments may keep one set of clothing, a plain wedding band, approved religious medallion, verified medical devices, current prescription medicine after staff verification, and up to five personal photos no larger than 5 by 7. Currency is logged, receipted, and placed into the inmate account. Extra property can be restricted, and contraband is treated as a security issue.
The county's Discharge & Releases page lists release types that include release on recognizance, non-monetary conditions, unsecured bail bond, nominal bail, monetary condition, court order, probation or parole, and time served. Bail questions are routed to the Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts. A detainer or another agency hold can prevent release even after a local monetary condition is addressed.
Venango Inmate Visits and Money
Video visitation uses SmartInmate by Smart Communications. Approved visitors create an account, schedule visits, and follow conduct rules. The county says visits are recorded and may be reviewed, times can change for facility operations, and inmates on disciplinary restriction may receive one visitation per week. Inmates also make outside calls through Smart Communications, and family or friends use prepaid collect or PIN debit account tools.
| Topic | Venango County Rule |
|---|---|
| USPS only, addressed to the inmate at Venango County Prison, 1186 Elk Street, Franklin, PA 16323. | |
| Phone and video | Smart Communications / SmartInmate, with customer care at 1-727-349-1561. |
| Money orders | Accepted by mail when payable to the inmate. |
| Online deposits | JailATM is listed by the county for internet deposits. |
| Lobby deposits | Cash may be inserted into the lobby kiosk. |
| Debt offset | Up to 60 percent of deposited money may be deducted when an inmate owes the prison. |
Venango County Jail Context
The Venango County inmate population sits inside a jail with unusual local history and current program details. The county history page traces the first jail to a 1799 blockhouse in Franklin known as Old Garrison. Later jails followed near South Park and on the present site. The current building was completed in 1911 after the county says the prior jail had been reported as one of the worst in the state. The modern rated capacity is much larger than the building's early design capacity.
Programs listed by the county include Alcoholics Anonymous, anger management, GED tutoring and testing, mental health counseling, Narcotics Anonymous, and prison ministry. The county FAQ also explains the Pre-Release Advisory Board, created in 1996, which meets every two weeks and reviews eligible sentenced inmates near minimum release dates before making recommendations to the sentencing judge.
The official prison history page adds a local detail that is hard to mistake for generic jail copy: the second jail's walls were described as easy to climb, and one county story says inmates climbed them to watch a circus. It is colorful, but it also shows why facility history, current capacity, and present-day security rules should be kept separate.
Venango County Prison Source View
The official Venango County Prison page shows the county's facility page, contact block, leadership, and corrections quick links that anchor the local custody research.
The screenshot matters because it confirms the county publishes facility information and corrections links, but not a local public roster or booking-photo search form.
Venango County Inmate Population FAQ
How many people are in the Venango County inmate population?
Recent official snapshots show 111 inmates on February 4, 2025, 119 on January 6, 2026, and 119 on February 3, 2026. The January 2026 minutes also reported an average in-house population of 114 for November. Use those as official snapshots, not a full-year census.
Does Venango County have an online inmate roster?
No official Venango County online jail roster, booking report, current-inmate search, or mugshot gallery was located in the official county pages reviewed. Current custody starts with the prison phone line and VINE, then court records if charges have been filed.
When should the PA DOC locator be used?
Use the PA DOC locator for state-sentenced inmates and parolees. It does not locate people held in a county facility, and it does not replace Venango County Prison for current local custody questions.
Are Venango County mugshots online?
The official county site did not publish a booking-photo gallery. Booking-photo requests should be routed through the county public-records process, with Pennsylvania CHRIA and law-enforcement limits in mind.