Knox County Jail Roster Overview
The Knox County Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Tom Spangler, houses people held in the county and runs the official inmate population list. The Corrections Division uses three facilities to keep custody safe and secure. The roster is a live custody list, not a statistics page. It updates as people are booked and released, and it carries an official disclaimer that the data should not be relied on for legal action.
The roster shows county custody only. It does not show people in state prison, who appear in the Tennessee Department of Correction system, and it does not show federal inmates, who appear in the Bureau of Prisons locator. Immigration holds, U.S. Marshal inmates, and holds for other agencies can appear because those people are physically held in the Knox County jail.
How to Use the Knox County Inmate Roster
The roster is free and quick. Open the Sheriff's inmate population list, then search by name or browse by letter.
- Open the inmate population page on the Sheriff's site.
- Enter a first name, a last name, or use the A through Z letter filter.
- Run the search and review the matching entries.
- Read the entry for booking, charge, bond, and court details.
If a name is not found, the person may have been released, transferred, or held under a different spelling. When custody status matters for safety, call Inmate Services at 865-281-6700 to confirm.
Roster Search Fields
The roster accepts a small set of inputs. You can type a name or use the alphabetical filter to page through last names. No booking number search is offered on the public page.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | No | Search for inmate form. |
| First Name | Text | No | Search for inmate form. |
| A-Z filter | Letter links | No | Browse last names A through Z. |
| Search | Submit button | n/a | Runs the search. |
Note: the public roster shows a date of birth but does not display a Social Security number or a home address.
What a Knox County Inmate Profile Shows
Each roster entry is built from a fixed set of fields. The Document Type field is the most useful, because it shows why a person is held. A warrant, a mittimus, a probation violation, an immigration hold, or a due-out time each tells a different story. The table translates the main fields.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Shown as last, first, middle. |
| IDN Number | The internal inmate identifier. |
| Document Type | Why the person is held, such as warrant, mittimus, or VOP. |
| Booked / Served | The date tied to a charge or hold. |
| Charge | The charge or hold description. |
| Bond Type and Amount | Release condition, such as none, denied, cash, or appearance. |
| Court Date, Division, Event | The next court step, such as a 48-hour bond hearing. |
Common Document Type values include warrant, jail mittimus, bound over mittimus, violation of probation, hold for immigration, and due-out time.
Knox County Jail Facilities
The Sheriff's Corrections Division runs three sites. The Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on Maloneyville Road is the main jail and the address for inmate mail. The Knox County Jail function is downtown, and the Work Release Center is also on Maloneyville Road. Use the main detention facility for mail, funds, and inmate services questions.
Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility
5001 Maloneyville Road
Knoxville, TN 37918
865-281-6700
Inmate Services and mail
Knox County Work Release Center
4900 Maloneyville Road
Knoxville, TN 37918
865-281-6700
Work release housing
Booking Process in Knox County
The District Attorney's Criminal Justice 101 guide explains the path. When an officer makes an arrest, the person goes to jail to be booked and processed and may have to make bond to be released. The person is then arraigned and given a court date. Knox County has five magistrates appointed to set bonds, sign arrest warrants, and issue search warrants.
The roster reflects this flow. A new entry often shows a 48-hour bond hearing as the first court event, followed by a preliminary hearing or a status date. The Booked or Served date and the Document Type show the custody paperwork, while the Bond Type and Bond Amount show the release condition.
Visitation Hours and Rules
The Corrections Division allows two scheduled visits a week, and visits are booked through the CorrectPay system. Inmates can also place unscheduled video calls that are paid from the inmate's account. The schedule below shows which housing units visit on which days, in the morning and the evening.
| Day | Morning Units | Evening Units |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Unit 2 and 3 | Unit 3 and 4 |
| Monday | Unit 1 and 3 | Unit 2 and 3 |
| Tuesday | Unit 3 and 4 | Unit 3 and 6 |
| Wednesday | Unit 2 and 3 | Unit 1 and 3 |
| Thursday | Unit 3 and 6 | Unit 3 and 4 |
| Friday | Unit 1 and 3 | Unit 2, 3, and 6 |
| Saturday | Unit 3, 4, and 6 | Unit 1 and 3 |
Note: confirm the current visit rules on the Sheriff's Corrections page, since dress code and visit length are not posted in detail.
How to Contact a Knox County Inmate
Mail goes to the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility and must include the inmate name with the IDN number, the unit number, and the pod assignment. Incomplete addressing can delay or block delivery. For a family emergency, call 865-281-6700 and explain the situation to the operator, who can pass a verified emergency through to the inmate.
Money orders and cashier's checks are accepted by mail only. Do not include a letter with a money order or cashier's check, because the correspondence will not be given to the inmate.
Commissary and Inmate Funds
Funds can be added in several ways. Deposit ATMs sit in the lobby of the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility, at the Knox County Jail, and at the onsite visitation center. Cash deposits carry a $3.45 surcharge, and credit-card ATM deposits add 5 percent plus $3.45. Online deposits run through CorrectPay. Because the Sheriff's page references more than one vendor for some services, confirm the current provider link before you send money.
Holds and Other-Agency Inmates
Not everyone on the Knox County roster is held on a local charge. The list mixes pretrial detainees, sentenced inmates on a mittimus, probation violators, and people held for other agencies. The Document Type field flags these. You may see a hold for immigration, an immigration detainee, a U.S. Marshal inmate, or a hold for another Tennessee law enforcement agency.
These holds matter for two reasons. First, a person held for ICE or the U.S. Marshals may not be released locally even after a county charge clears. Second, a federal or immigration hold means the underlying case is not in the county court system, so the Knox County clerk will not have that file. When a roster entry shows an outside hold, the next step is to contact the agency named in the hold.
What the Roster Cannot Confirm
The roster is a snapshot, and a few things sit outside it. When a name drops off the list, the page does not say why. It could mean release, a transfer, a data update, or a name mismatch. A due-out time line is an operational custody note, not a final court ruling. And a county release is not the same as a dismissed case, since a person can be released on bond, on recognizance, on time served, or to another agency while the case stays open.
For the reason a person left custody, call Inmate Services at 865-281-6700. For the court outcome, check the case through the Knox County court records tools rather than the roster.
TDOC FOIL vs the Knox County Jail Roster
The county roster and the state system answer different questions. The Knox County jail roster shows people held in the county right now. The Tennessee Department of Correction runs the Felony Offender Information Lookup, known as FOIL, for felony offenders currently or formerly in state custody or supervision. A person who is sentenced to state prison leaves the county roster and shows up in FOIL instead.
FOIL can show a photo, custody status, location, offense, sentence, parole hearing, and release information. The search uses a name, a TDOC ID, or a state ID number, and it asks for a CAPTCHA. For federal custody, the Bureau of Prisons locator is the right tool. Matching the tool to the type of custody is the key to finding the right person.
VINELink Custody Notifications
If you need to know the moment someone leaves custody, a one-time roster check is not enough. VINELink is a free, confidential notification service. You select Tennessee, search by offender name or ID, and register for alerts by phone, text, email, or app. Tennessee describes the SAVIN and VINE notifications as free and confidential.
VINELink is best for custody-status alerts, while the court portals are best for hearing dates and dispositions. For safety planning, register for notifications and also contact the jail or victim services directly rather than relying on a single webpage view.