La Crosse County Jail Overview
La Crosse County Jail is the sole adult detention facility in the county facility map. It is operated by the La Crosse County Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff John Siegel, and sits in the Law Enforcement Center complex in downtown La Crosse. The jail holds current county jail inmates, including people booked after an arrest, pretrial detainees waiting for first appearance or later court dates, sentenced misdemeanants, people on probation holds, warrant arrests, and some non-criminal confinement matters such as civil contempt or failure to pay a forfeiture.
The jail is not a Wisconsin Department of Corrections prison. A person sentenced to state prison leaves the La Crosse County Jail population after transfer and must be searched through the statewide DOC locator. Federal and immigration custody are separate too. A person may start in the county jail on local charges, but a later federal case, U.S. Marshals hold, Bureau of Prisons sentence, or ICE detention question will not be answered by the county roster alone.
La Crosse County Jail Capacity
The county jail history gives unusually detailed capacity figures. The Law Enforcement Center jail opened with 172 beds in eight pods, 23 receiving cells, and a seven-bed medical area. After the temporary Male Huber Facility closed on January 1, 2006, capacity was listed at 211 beds. The 2008 to 2011 expansion added a new booking area, master control, program space, and two 57-bed direct-supervision blocks. On February 23, 2011, the old female jail closed, and all inmates were housed in the Law Enforcement Center Jail.
The post-consolidation capacity published by the county is 244 beds plus 44 receiving, medical, and close-supervision cells. The latest official average daily population found in the research was 103 for 2022 on the Sheriff Transparency page. That is not a live current count. It is the latest official county-published ADP located during the July 2026 research review.
The Urban Institute Transition from Jail to Community profile cited a 2011 average daily population of 172 and a capacity reference of 211, while the county transparency series later showed a sharp COVID-era drop from 171 ADP in 2019 to 100 in 2020.
La Crosse County Jail Lookup
The correct online lookup for this county jail is the La Crosse County Jail Inmate Locator. It is free, does not require a login, and starts with a disclaimer gate. The county says the locator is for people presently incarcerated in La Crosse County Jail and shows public booking information. It is initial arrest data, so it may lag after a new booking, release, bond payment, transfer, or court hearing.
- Open the official inmate locator and read the disclaimer.
- Click the agreement button to reach the current inmate listing.
- Use the table columns for last name, first name, age, city, state, and date arrested to find the person.
- Click a last name link to open the profile with booking details, photo area, charge rows, bond amount, bond type, statute, and case number when those fields are present.
- If the person is not listed, call the jail information line or use the sheriff public-records process for booking records that are not visible online.
The official current inmate list shown in the La Crosse County Inmate Locator after the disclaimer gate uses a table rather than a simple search box.
This is the roster to check for current county jail custody before moving to DOC, BOP, ICE, or court-record searches.
Note: A roster entry is not a conviction, and La Crosse County directs users to WCCA for final court dispositions.
La Crosse County Jail Contact
Use the jail phone for current custody questions, inmate number questions, and deposit setup when the online roster does not answer the issue. Use the sheriff's main phone for sheriff office business, fingerprinting appointment scheduling, and public office routing. Public records, including reports, body camera or squad video, photographs, and other sheriff-held records, route through the sheriff public-records request form.
La Crosse County Jail
333 Vine Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-9630
Jail information and inmate number questions
La Crosse County Sheriff's Office
333 Vine Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-9629
Business office and sheriff services
The sheriff public-records request form is the fallback for records that are not in the public roster. Email delivery is free when available. Compact disc delivery is listed at $10 per disc plus shipping, and the sheriff notes that records must be reviewed and redacted before release.
La Crosse County Jail Visits
Visitation at La Crosse County Jail uses Securus for onsite and remote video visits. Each adult visitor must have an approved Securus visitation account and may not use another person's account. For onsite visits, the registered adult visitor is limited to one approved adult and may bring one pre-approved minor if that minor is registered under the specific visit. Cell phones, tablets, smart recording devices, vaping devices, and e-cigarettes may not be used or visible during onsite visits.
The official visitation rules reviewed did not publish a day-by-day public schedule. The reliable rule is to schedule and confirm the visit through the county inmate visitation page and Securus account system before traveling. Former inmates must wait 60 days after release before visiting. Exposure, sexual behavior, screenshots, gang signs, illegal behavior, property damage, and other rule violations can suspend visiting privileges.
| Visit Type | Schedule Source | Key Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Onsite video | Securus account scheduling | One approved adult, one pre-approved minor, no visible phones or recording devices. |
| Remote video | Securus account scheduling | Registered visitor must be present and may visit only the inmate tied to that visit. |
| Former inmate visitor | Confirm before scheduling | County rule requires a 60-day wait after release. |
La Crosse County Jail Mail
Personal physical mail is limited. La Crosse County says physical mail, including photos, is not accepted except legal mail and mail from other verified correctional facilities. For most family and friend communication, the practical route is Securus eMessaging. Staff are not responsible for passing messages. Phone and message funds can be added to an inmate debit account or to an outside party's Advanced Connect account through Securus or 1-800-844-6591.
Money for commissary is separate from bond. Commissary funds may be deposited through the lobby kiosk, by cashier's check mailed for the inmate, or through TouchPay Direct. The county lists TouchPay's phone number as 1-866-232-1899, customer service as 1-866-204-1603, and the jail facility locator number as 254601. The inmate number can be obtained by calling the jail at 608-785-9630.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Personal messages | Securus eMessaging, because ordinary physical mail and photos are not accepted. |
| Phone account | Securus inmate debit or Advanced Connect account. |
| Commissary deposit | Lobby kiosk, cashier's check by mail, or TouchPay Direct with facility locator 254601. |
| Legal mail | Accepted separately, but sender should confirm address format and handling with the jail. |
La Crosse County Jail Bond
Bond is not the same as commissary money. County bond during regular business hours goes through the Clerk of Courts Office, Room 1200, in the Law Enforcement Center. The county lists business hours as Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Accepted payment forms for county bonds during those hours include cash, money orders, cashier's checks, or major credit cards. Personal checks are not accepted for county bonds.
After hours and on weekends, bond can be paid at Jail Master Control at 333 Vine Street. After-hours payment forms are money orders, cashier's checks, or major credit cards. Cash and personal checks are not accepted after hours or on weekends. Online or phone county bond payments use AllPaid with Facility Code 1411, and a transaction fee is added. City of La Crosse municipal bonds are a separate payment path through the City Treasurer or municipal court process.
- Cash bond
- Money must be paid before release when the court sets that condition.
- Signature bond
- Release is based on a signed promise and court conditions, when ordered.
- Hold or detainer
- Another case, agency, warrant, probation matter, federal issue, or immigration matter may block release even when one charge has bond.
La Crosse County Jail Intake
Booking starts when an arresting agency, probation process, warrant process, or court commitment brings a person to the jail. Staff create or update the jail booking record, take identifying information, assign or confirm the inmate number, and enter charges or holds into the jail system. The public profile may show a photo area and charge grid, but the county warns that the roster may not immediately reflect every change in custody status.
Housing is handled through objective classification. In plain terms, objective classification is a housing decision system based on current charges, past criminal history, and jail behavior records. The county jail history links that classification need to its housing design, receiving cells, medical space, close-supervision cells, and direct-supervision blocks. After booking, a person may move through receiving, medical screening, close supervision, a direct-supervision housing unit, or another appropriate housing area.
The county jail population graphic comes from the La Crosse County Sheriff Transparency page, which publishes bookings, demographic percentages, and average daily population figures.
Those figures help place a single La Crosse County Jail booking into the larger local custody trend without treating old ADP data as a live count.
La Crosse County Jail Systems
The county roster answers only the county jail question. For final court case status after a jail arrest, use Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, often called WCCA. For state prison custody after a sentence, use the Wisconsin DOC Offender Locator. DOC states that county and city jails are administered separately from DOC facilities, so a person missing from the DOC locator may still be in a county jail, and a person missing from the county roster may have transferred to DOC.
| Custody Question | Correct Source |
|---|---|
| Current La Crosse County Jail inmate | La Crosse County Jail Inmate Locator or jail phone. |
| Final state charges and disposition | Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, not the jail roster. |
| Sentenced state prisoner | Wisconsin DOC Offender Locator and DOC facility rules. |
| Custody notification | Wisconsin VINE for custody status and notification registration. |
| Sentenced federal prisoner | Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator System. |
La Crosse County Jail Programs
The jail's 2008 to 2011 expansion added program space and direct-supervision blocks, and the Urban Institute identified La Crosse County as a Transition from Jail to Community site. County Justice Support Services also provides court-ordered services for adults pending court or convicted of crimes. Those services include screening and assessment, case management, GPS monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, cognitive-behavioral groups, SMART Recovery groups, treatment court orientation, Drug Treatment Court, OWI Treatment Court, diversion programs, and employment help.
Justice Support Services is not the same as the jail roster, but it matters for people whose jail case connects to court supervision, treatment court, diversion, or reentry. The county's 2025 opioid response plan also ties treatment access to reduced jail admissions. Education and reentry resources may involve partners as well. Western Technical College's Project Proven describes adult education, basic literacy, and GED services offered in collaboration with area jail staff, including La Crosse County.
Note: Confirm custody, visit approval, and account setup with the jail or vendor before travel or payment.