The Moore County Inmate Population
The Moore County inmate population is centered on one local jail, the Moore County Detention Center in Carthage. The county research found no separate Moore County work-release annex, city jail, regional jail, state prison, BOP prison, or ICE detention center operating as its own facility inside the county. That matters for search accuracy. Current pretrial detainees, local sentenced detainees, and people held on local warrants, bonds, court dates, or agency holds are searched through the county detention roster. Sentenced state prisoners from Moore County are searched through the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, not the county jail roster.
The count changes as people are arrested, released on bond, committed by a court, moved to another agency, or transferred after sentencing. The county's roster shows an admit date for each current detainee, while the state system tracks people after state custody or supervision begins. The Moore County inmate population is therefore not one single database. It is a local jail population for current custody, plus state and federal fallback systems for people no longer held by the sheriff.
Moore County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest local figures in the research come from the NC Jail Administrators' Association detention directory, the Moore County FY2026 dashboard, the Prison Policy Initiative, and Census QuickFacts. The directory lists the Moore County Detention Center at a rated capacity of 272. The FY2026 dashboard shows detention as a large county department with 81 full-time budgeted positions and an $8,465,873 expenditure budget. The same dashboard contains an average daily population chart, but the exact monthly values were not available as text, so no precise monthly ADP is stated here.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Moore County Detention Center rated capacity | 272 | NCJAA detention directory, 2026 |
| Local detention facilities in Moore County facility map | 1 | Facility Map research |
| FY26 detention expenditure budget | $8,465,873 | Moore County Dashboard FY2026, May 2026 |
| FY26 detention staffing | 81 full-time, 0 part-time | Moore County Dashboard FY2026 |
| Historical local jail population | 126 | Prison Policy Initiative table, 12/31/2013 |
| Moore County population estimate | 110,619 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2025 |
Moore County Inmate Population Trends
Moore County's public trend data is uneven, but the available sources show why the current jail should not be compared to old downtown jail capacity. A 2013 local jail population figure from the Prison Policy Initiative showed 126 people in custody on December 31, 2013. The current NCJAA directory lists a 272-rated-capacity facility. The county FY2026 dashboard also tracks average daily population against maximum capacity, which confirms that the county monitors population pressure, even though the chart labels were not available as a clean data table.
| Year or Date | Population or Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 local news context | 126 inmates in old jail | Reported expansion context for a facility then designed for no more than 110. |
| 12/31/2013 | 126 local jail population | Prison Policy Initiative table using BJS Census of Jail Facilities 2013. |
| 2026 | 272 rated capacity | NC Jail Administrators' Association detention directory. |
| FY2026 | ADP chart published | County dashboard shows average daily population and maximum capacity series without extractable monthly labels. |
Statewide context helps frame the Moore County inmate population without pretending that state averages are local jail counts. North Carolina jails had a July 2024 average daily population of 17,507 and statewide jail capacity of 28,184 in the sentencing-policy materials summarized in the research. The Prison Policy Initiative profile lists North Carolina's incarceration rate at 559 per 100,000 people and estimates at least 128,000 different people are booked into local jails across the state each year.
Who Is in the Moore County Inmate Population
The public sources did not publish a local aggregate breakdown by pretrial status, sentence status, sex, race, age, charge level, or average length of stay. That gap should be kept clear. The Moore County roster shows profile-level information for current detainees, such as age, race, sex, admit date, booking photo, charges, court date, bond, charging agency, and arresting agency. It does not turn those profile rows into an official demographic report. Building an aggregate from live roster rows would require data processing that is outside this project's approved workflow.
- County jail custody covers current detainees held at Moore County Detention Center before trial, after commitment, for local sentences, or on agency holds shown on a roster profile.
- State custody begins when a person is sentenced or supervised through NC DAC, which says its database does not include county jail information.
- Federal custody is checked through the BOP locator for sentenced federal inmates and through federal court or U.S. Marshals channels for pretrial cases.
- Immigration detention is checked through ICE's locator; no ICE detention facility was found in Moore County.
Moore County Jail Capacity
The Moore County Detention Center's rated capacity is 272 according to the 2026 NCJAA detention directory. County budget material gives more operating context: the FY2026 dashboard lists $65,000 in telephone deposits, $414,000 in inmate/video/commissary/health revenue, and $7,986,873 in county property tax as detention revenue sources. Those figures are budget facts, not inmate counts, but they show that detention is funded and tracked as a separate county operation.
North Carolina standards also shape the population picture. Local confinement facilities are subject to state rules on space, supervision, medical care, sanitation, food, and prisoner safekeeping. The NC DHSR Jails and Detention Unit conducts inspections of county, municipal, and regional jails. Moore County's own detention page publishes a PREA zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse and harassment, and the county dashboard states the detention mission as providing a safe and secure environment for inmates and staff in line with federal and state regulations.
Laws for Moore County Inmate Records
Moore County inmate population records sit at the intersection of North Carolina public-record law, criminal investigation limits, jail standards, and court-process rules. The public can inspect many records made or received in public business, but criminal investigation material has limits. That distinction is why the roster can show current custody, bond, charges, and court dates while some incident files, investigative photos, or sealed court records may require a different request path or may be withheld.
Key statutes:
G.S. 132-1 defines public records broadly, including electronic records, photos, papers, and other materials made or received in public business.
G.S. 132-6 requires custodians to allow inspection at reasonable times and provide copies as promptly as possible.
G.S. 132-1.4 limits criminal investigation records but makes certain arrest information and returned warrants public unless sealed.
G.S. 153A-220 places local confinement facility standards, inspections, and technical assistance under state oversight.
G.S. 153A-225 requires medical care plans and death reporting when a prisoner dies in local confinement custody.
Search the Moore County Inmate Population
The primary online lookup is the Moore County Detention Center web application. It has three search modes: Inmates, Charges, and Days. The Inmates tab searches by name and also offers a View all inmates link. The Charges tab searches by charge description and can help when the exact name spelling is unclear. The Days tab searches over a recent number of days. Once the current roster grid opens, the public can filter Full Name, Age, Race, Sex, and Admit Date, then click a full name to open the profile.
- Open the official Moore County Detention Center search landing page.
- Use the Inmates tab for a name search, or choose View all inmates to browse the full current grid.
- Use grid filters when the result set is large, especially Full Name or Admit Date.
- Click the person's full name to see the booking photo, descriptors, charges, court dates, docket numbers, bond, and agencies.
- If the person is not listed, call the Detention Center or check NC DAC, BOP, ICE, or NC SAVAN/VINELink based on custody type.
The current inmate grid is a strong local source because it shows the fields readers will see before opening a profile. The screenshot below comes from that official grid and shows the public roster layout.
The grid view is useful for quick filtering, but the profile page is where charge, bond, court-date, mugshot, and agency detail appear.
Moore County Roster Search Fields
The Moore County jail roster has more than a simple last-name box. The landing page lets a reader search by person, charge description, or recent-days range. The current grid then adds column filters. This is a local search advantage because charge descriptions on an inmate profile can link back to filtered charge results.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By name | Text | Unspecified | Input name InmatesSearchBox; search a name or use View all inmates. |
| By charge description | Text | Unspecified | Input name ChargesSearchBox; search charge words or choose View all charges. |
| Over the last number of days | Number | Unspecified | Input name DaysSearchBox; visible placeholder is 5. |
| Full Name | Grid text filter | Optional | Filters current roster rows; names open profile links. |
| Admit Date | Date editor | Optional | Uses M/d/yyyy format with calendar, Today, and Clear controls. |
Moore County Inmate Record Fields
A Moore County inmate profile can show a booking photo, date of birth, age, race, sex, eye color, hair color, weight, height, admit date, admit time, address, and confining agency. The charge grid can show charge, offense date, court type, court date, docket number, bond, bond type, charging agency, and arresting agency. The inspected sample did not show a booking number, housing unit, pod, or projected release date.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Mugshot | Booking photo on the inmate profile when available, with a larger image popup. |
| Admit Date and Time | When the person entered Moore County Detention Center custody. |
| Charge and Court Type | Booking or custody charge language and the court level shown on the roster. |
| Docket Number | Court case number tied to the charge, useful for eCourts Portal lookup. |
| Bond and Bond Type | Amount and condition, such as secured bond or included in other charges. |
| Charging and Arresting Agency | Agency linked to the charge and agency that made the arrest. |
Past Moore County Inmate Records
The Moore County roster is a current-custody tool. The research did not locate an official published retention rule for released inmates or a separate daily booking archive. When a person is no longer listed, use the Detention Center phone line for custody confirmation, the Sheriff's Office for county incident-report routing, and the Moore County Clerk of Superior Court or eCourts Portal for the court record. Public-record requests fall under Chapter 132, but criminal investigation limits still apply.
Municipal cases may add another records path. Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Aberdeen, and Carthage operate local police services, and Southern Pines, Pinehurst, and Aberdeen use Citizen Connect portals for police records or reports. Those portals do not replace the county jail roster. They help when the arresting agency on a Moore County inmate profile is a municipal police department and the reader needs an incident report rather than current custody status.
County Jail vs State Prison Lookup
Pretrial Moore County detainees are searched through the county jail roster. A sentenced person may later appear in the NC DAC Offender Public Information Search. NC DAC states that its database covers state prison offenders, probationers, and parolees, with historical information back to 1972, and that it does not include county jail information. That distinction prevents a common search error: checking the state locator for someone who is still in the Moore County jail.
| Moore County Jail | NC DAC State System | |
|---|---|---|
| Who appears | Current local detainees, local commitments, short local sentences, and holds shown on roster profiles. | State prisoners, probationers, parolees, and historical state offender records. |
| Run by | Moore County Sheriff's Office. | North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. |
| Best search fields | Name, charge description, recent-days search, roster grid filters. | Offender number, name, status, gender, race, birth date, or age range. |
| Not covered | State prison sentence records after transfer. | County jail detainees not yet in state custody. |
State Federal and ICE Search
No active North Carolina DAC prison, BOP prison, or ICE facility was found physically in Moore County. The search path still matters. Federal sentenced inmates are searched through the BOP Inmate Locator, which covers federal inmates from 1982 to the present. Immigration detainees are searched through the ICE Online Detainee Locator, using either A-number details or biographical information. NC SAVAN/VINELink provides a notification layer for county jail inmates, state prisoners, probationers, parolees, and registered sex offenders.
The NC DAC criminal offender searches page is helpful when a Moore County case has moved beyond the local jail. It links the state offender search and NC SAVAN. The screenshot below shows the state offender-search entry point that should be used for sentenced state custody rather than local detention.
State results can include custody, supervision, location, sentence, and projected release fields that the county roster does not publish.
Moore County Detention Facilities
The facility map resolved one Moore County detention facility for this project. Related state, federal, or immigration institutions are fallback lookup systems, not local Moore County facility pages. The local facility link is still important because the facility page carries contact, visit, mail, commissary, and public-record details that a roster result alone does not explain.
- Moore County Detention Center is the sheriff-operated local confinement facility for pretrial detainees, local sentenced detainees, and people held on local warrants, bonds, court dates, or agency holds shown in the roster.
Moore County Custody Terms
Several terms appear across the Moore County inmate population search path. Plain meanings help separate jail status from court status.
- Booking
- The administrative jail entry after arrest or court commitment.
- Docket number
- The court case number tied to a charge on the roster.
- Secured bond
- A release condition backed by cash, property, or surety.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency or jurisdiction.
- NC SAVAN
- North Carolina's victim notification system, accessed through VINELink.
Moore County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Moore County inmate population? The exact current count changes daily and should be checked through the official roster or jail. The researched fixed figure is capacity: the 2026 NCJAA directory lists Moore County Detention Center with 272 rated beds. The county dashboard also tracks average daily population against capacity, but the exact monthly values were not extracted as text.
How do I search the Moore County inmate population? Start with the official Moore County Detention Center web app. Search by name, charge description, or recent-days range, then open the profile from the current inmate grid. If no match appears, call the jail or check NC DAC, BOP, ICE, or NC SAVAN based on the custody type.
Does the county roster show court records? It shows court-related fields such as court date, court type, docket number, bond, and charge information. Formal court records after arrest are searched through the North Carolina eCourts Portal or the Moore County Clerk of Superior Court.
Are Moore County booking photos online? Current inmate profiles display mugshots when available. North Carolina law does not make every investigative photograph automatically public on demand, so historical or missing photos may require a sheriff's records request and may be limited by law or court order.