Any phone browser works for this:

1. Open the county's jail population report.
2. Type the last name in the box marked for an inmate's last name and press search.
3. Scan the rows for the right first name and commit date.
4. Note the committing authority. It tells you which district court, Common Pleas judge or outside agency sent the person in.
5. Not sure of the spelling? The same page offers a full alphabetical list, separate male and female lists, a list by committing authority and a transfer and furlough list.

On October 31, 2026 the alphabetical list held 161 men and 41 women, plus 8 people out on transfer or furlough.

An empty search can happen for ordinary reasons:

• Still in booking. A person picked up within the last few hours may not be entered yet.
• Released already. Bail, ROR or a judge's order may have sent them home.
• On transfer. Check the transfer and furlough list, which shows the release date and the new location.
• A spelling twist. Try a maiden name, a second last name or a shorter first name.
• A minor. Teens booked on Pennsylvania charges are routed to youth detention.

The Records office handles more than 4,500 admissions and releases each year. Call 724-662-2700 and ask for Records. Its weekday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The county runs a single adult jail at 55 Thompson Road, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-2700. It is overseen by a warden and the county Prison Board, not by the Sheriff, and it has space for up to 310 people. Inside, people live in housing units labeled HA, HB, HD, HE/HF, HG and HH. To learn which unit holds your person and what that unit is used for, call the jail.

State Correctional Institution Mercer, 724-662-1837, belongs to the state prison system and has nothing to do with the county lockup. For arrests near the Lawrence, Butler or Crawford lines, call these jails as well:

• Lawrence County Corrections Center, 111 South Milton Street, New Castle, PA 16101, 724-654-5384
• Butler County Prison, 202 South Washington Street, Butler, PA 16001, 724-284-5256
• Crawford County Correctional Facility, 2100 Independence Drive, Saegertown, PA 16433, 814-763-1190

The county's jail report gives names, dates and committing courts, not booking photos. Pennsylvania courts have been sorting out who may release mugshots, and practice varies by county. Expect that a photo might not be handed out.

• News outlets and the public can request one from the jail at 724-662-2700 or the arresting police department.
• Federal agencies hold their booking photos back, except that the U.S. Marshals Service sometimes shows a fugitive's face.
• Photos snapped by immigration officers require a Freedom of Information request through ICE's FOIA portal.

Yes. The county points families and victims to PA SAVIN, the state's free notification service. It tracks people in this jail and sends word of a release, transfer, furlough or escape. Nobody tells the inmate that you registered.

• Search or register on VINELink for Pennsylvania, which also shows current custody status.
• Register by phone at 866-972-7284, any hour. TTY users dial 866-847-1298.
• Notices can come by voice call, text message or email, or through the VINELink app.

For same-day news, call Records at 724-662-2700.

Pennsylvania still uses money bail, but most people have a right to some form of release (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14). A magisterial district judge sets the terms at the preliminary arraignment. Outside office hours an on-call district judge can grant bail on any day.

• Options run from ROR, a signed promise, up to full money bail.
• Local Rule L528 lets the person or a relative post 10 percent, at least $50.
• Deposits are made at the district court that set bail, or with the Clerk of Courts, 125 South Diamond Street, Suite 112, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-3800.
• The county Pretrial Program can help release eligible people who stay in jail after arraignment.

Every step, from payment to refunds, is on our bail page.

Charges sit on the court docket. On the free UJS Web Portal, enter the name and pick Mercer as the county. Every charge appears with its grade (F2, M1 and so on), next to the bail figure and the coming hearing date.

A just-filed case may take a short while to appear. Final charging choices rest with the District Attorney, which may add or drop counts. It works from 125 South Diamond Street, Suite 209, Mercer, PA 16137. Stuck on a docket entry? Ask the Clerk of Courts, reached at 724-662-3800.

The person can apply as soon as they are charged. The Public Defender's Office takes applications by phone at 724-662-3800. Relatives are welcome to make that first call. The office is in the Courthouse Annex, 120 South Diamond Street, Suite 1, Mercer, PA 16137, open weekdays except for a noon to 1:00 p.m. lunch hour.

• Applicants sign a sworn form about money. The county sets its own income test (16 P.S. § 9960.1 and following).
• Defenders take cases from the first hearing to the verdict. They also cover probation violation hearings and youth matters.
• Hiring a private attorney later is always an option.

Visits happen two ways: by video on the inmate tablet system, or in person without physical contact. Here is what to know:

• Only people on the inmate's approved list may visit, and each must show a current photo ID.
• To book a visit, call 724-662-2700 and ask for Booking. Call the day before, after 7:00 p.m., and no later than 7:00 a.m. on the visit day.
• On-site visits last up to 30 minutes.
• Most housing units allow 2 visits a week with up to 2 visitors. Units HE and HF allow 1 visit a week with 1 visitor.
• Each unit has its own visit days, some in the evening and some on weekends. Ask Booking for your person's unit and times.
• Phones, lighters, tobacco and recording devices stay outside. Bringing contraband gets a visitor removed.

First-time visitors can prepare with our visiting guide.

Commissary money buys snacks, hygiene items and tablet time. The jail takes deposits these ways:

• Cash at a scheduled visit, or cash at the lobby kiosk from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day. Cash posts by the next business day.
• Credit card at the kiosk or online through the jail's deposit service. Card money usually takes three business days.

Deposit questions go to the service line, 877-650-4249. Account questions go to the jail's fiscal office at 724-662-2700. Our money guide covers deposits in general. Snacks, soap and other store items are listed in our commissary guide. Never send cash through the mail.

People in the jail use tablets. They buy tablet time from commissary, and family can add tablet funds online, through a free app or by phone at 866-516-0115. Video visits also run on these tablets.

For calling rules, rates and messaging, ask the jail at 724-662-2700. Assume every call and message is recorded, except calls with a lawyer. Keep the facts of the case for conversations with the defense attorney. Read our phone guide for calling basics and our messaging guide for e-messages.

Personal mail does not go to Thompson Road. Every incoming envelope is routed through an out-of-state processing center in Maryland, a normal setup for many jails now. Address it like this:

Mercer County Jail
[Full name], BN#[booking number]
PO Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

• BN means Booking Number. Find it by calling the jail.
• Write who it is from, with a return address, in the corner.
• Before sending legal papers, books or magazines, check with the jail at 724-662-2700 before sending.

Our mail guide lists items most jails turn away. Never mail cash.

Wallets, phones and clothing taken at intake go into storage on Thompson Road. To pick them up, or to collect for someone still inside, call 724-662-2700 during weekday office hours and ask for Records.

• Find out if your person has to sign paperwork naming you as the one allowed to pick up.
• Bring a government photo ID to 55 Thompson Road, Mercer, PA 16137.
• Ask how money left on the commissary account is paid back.

A contracted medical team provides care around the clock. The program holds NCCHC certification and covers medical, dental and mental health needs. It also offers Medication Assisted Treatment and medications for opioid use disorder.

When a family member inside needs a prescription, has a health problem or seems to be in danger, call 724-662-2700 and ask for Medical. Give the medicine name, dose and doctor. If you fear self-harm, say so plainly. Outside the jail, a medical emergency is a 911 call.

The Sheriff's Office, 205 South Erie Street, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-6135, carries out bench warrants issued by Common Pleas judges. City, borough and township officers, along with constables, serve the rest. Check the Sheriff's Wanted Fugitives page, the troopers' Ten Most Wanted list, the DOC's absconder list and the Marshals 15 Most Wanted. A docket search on the UJS portal flags open cases. To settle a warrant, the usual route is a surrender at the issuing court with counsel present. Questions go to the Clerk of Courts, 125 South Diamond Street, Suite 112, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-3800.

Upcoming dates and courtrooms appear on the UJS Web Portal docket. Or call the court that has the case:

• Clerk of Courts (Common Pleas), 125 South Diamond Street, Suite 112, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-3800
• District Court 35-2-01, 1217 Hall Avenue, Sharon, PA 16146, 724-346-6541
• District Court 35-2-02, 425 Idaho Street, Farrell, PA 16121, 724-346-3591
• District Court 35-3-01, 123 West Market Street, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-5230
• District Court 35-3-02, 574 Barkeyville Road, Grove City, PA 16127, 724-458-4931
• District Court 35-3-03, 14 North Race Street, Greenville, PA 16125, 724-588-3210

The county also posts a daily court list. Our court page explains each hearing.

Federal prosecutors bring Mercer-area cases before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 700 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412-208-7500.

1. Early on, a judge in Pittsburgh holds a detention hearing on pretrial release (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Pending trial, Marshals Service deputies place the prisoner in a jail with federal contracts. Ask the Marshals' Pittsburgh office, 700 Grant Street, Room 2360, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412-644-3351, where the person is.
3. Once a federal sentence begins, enter a name or register number on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Immigration cases out of the Thompson Road jail tend to follow five steps:

1. ICE paperwork called a detainer, Form I-247A, reaches the county jail.
2. It requests a hold for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. The Third Circuit's Galarza v. Szalczyk ruling (2014) treats detainers as requests, and jailing a person solely because of one exposes the county to a lawsuit. Each county jail sets its own policy, so ask this one at 724-662-2700.
4. Once ICE takes custody, the Philadelphia Field Office, 114 North 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164, handles the case.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by name and country of birth.

Maximum terms of 5 years or longer, and most between 2 and 5, are served in a state correctional institution (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762). First comes classification at a reception center, lasting weeks or even months. A home prison is assigned afterward.

• Names and DOC numbers both work on the DOC inmate locator.
• Phone the DOC central office at 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573.
• Visit rules and mail for each prison are on our Pennsylvania state prisons page.

A teen is placed in juvenile detention, kept apart from adults on Thompson Road. Juvenile court hears the case, which stays hidden from the public portal. Some 15 to 17 year olds facing murder or certain armed violent charges start in adult court.

To find a youth, call Juvenile Probation, 120 Strawberry Street, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-3800. After hours, use its 24-hour emergency line, 724-456-9415. Staff can name the detention center and the date a judge will see the youth.

The committing authority on the jail report hints at who brought the person in. Here are the county's police agencies, grouped by the district court area they mostly serve. For emergencies dial 911. The county 911 center's non-emergency line is 724-662-6110.

Sharon area (35-2-01)

• Sharon Police Department, 155 West Connelly Boulevard, Sharon, PA 16146, 724-983-3210
• Sharpsville Police Department, 1 South Walnut Street, Sharpsville, PA 16150, 724-962-7829

Farrell and Hermitage area (35-2-02)

• Farrell Police Department, 500 Roemer Boulevard, Farrell, PA 16121, 724-983-2720
• Hermitage Police Department, 800 North Hermitage Road, Hermitage, PA 16148, 724-983-6780
• Shenango Township Police Department, 3439 Hubbard Middlesex Road, West Middlesex, PA 16159, 724-528-3334

County seat area (35-3-01)

• Mercer Borough Police Department, 145 North Pitt Street, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-3980
• Jefferson/Clark Regional Police Department, 7407 Lamor Road, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-3310

Grove City area (35-3-02)

• Grove City Police Department, 337 East Pine Street, Grove City, PA 16127, 724-458-7925
• Sandy Lake Borough Police Department, 3271 South Main Street, Sandy Lake, PA 16145, 724-376-2676
• Stoneboro Police Department, 59 Lake Street, Stoneboro, PA 16153, 724-376-3696

Greenville area (35-3-03)

• Greenville/West Salem Police Department, 125 Main Street, Greenville, PA 16125, 724-588-4190, answered 24 hours
• Hempfield Township Police Department, 278 South Mercer Street, Greenville, PA 16125, 724-588-7369
• Jamestown Police Department, 406 Jackson Street, Jamestown, PA 16134, 724-932-5211
• Pymatuning Township Police Department, 256 Edgewood Drive Extension, Transfer, PA 16154, 724-646-1134
• South Pymatuning Township Police Department, 3483 Tamarack Drive, Sharpsville, PA 16150, 724-962-7856

Countywide

• Pennsylvania State Police, Troop D, Mercer station, 139 Steingrabe Road, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-748-0044, answered 24 hours. State troopers answer calls in municipalities lacking a local department, including most townships in the county.
• Sheriff's Office, 205 South Erie Street, Mercer, PA 16137, 724-662-6135
• Thiel College Campus Police, 724-589-2186