Access Clinton County Recent Bookings
Clinton County recent bookings are managed by Sheriff Sean Dush's office in St. Johns. This mid-Michigan county sits just north of Lansing and has a population near 79,000. The jail on East Townsend Road holds up to 220 inmates. Clinton County does not have a public online inmate search, so booking information comes through phone calls and FOIA requests. This page explains every way to search for recent bookings in Clinton County, including which state tools can help and what the law says about record access.
Clinton County Overview
Clinton County Sheriff's Office
The Clinton County Sheriff's Office runs the jail at 1347 East Townsend Road in St. Johns. Sheriff Sean Dush oversees the department. The jail has 220 beds. You can call the main number at 989-224-5200 or use the toll-free line at 866-932-6506.
Every arrest in Clinton County goes through this facility for booking. The intake process creates a record with the person's name, date of birth, charges, arresting agency, and bond amount. Staff also take a booking photo. All of this information is public under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. Clinton County is one of the larger counties near the Lansing area without an online inmate search, so you have to go through the office directly to get booking data.
Clinton County borders Ingham County, where the state capital is located. Some arrests that happen near the county line might end up in either jail. If you cannot find someone in Clinton County, try checking with the Ingham County jail as well.
| Address | 1347 East Townsend Road, St. Johns, MI 48879 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 989-224-5200 |
| Toll-Free | 866-932-6506 |
| Sheriff | Sean Dush |
| Capacity | 220 beds |
Searching Clinton County Booking Records
Call the jail administrative desk at 989-224-5200. You can also use the toll-free number, 866-932-6506. Give them the full name and date of birth of the person you are looking for. Staff will check the roster and share what they can. This is free and usually takes just a few minutes.
The Michigan ICHAT system lets you run a statewide criminal history check for $10. It pulls conviction data from all 83 counties but does not include current jail bookings or pending charges. For state prison records, the MDOC OTIS portal is free and shows inmates, parolees, and probationers. If you want alerts when someone's custody status changes in Clinton County, sign up at VINELink for free notifications.
Clinton County FOIA and Records Access
Michigan's FOIA law, codified at MCL 15.231, gives everyone the right to request government records. Clinton County booking records, arrest reports, and jail logs are all covered. To make a request, write to the Clinton County Sheriff's Office at 1347 E. Townsend Rd, St. Johns, MI 48879.
Your request should include your full name, contact information, and a specific description of what records you want. Dates and names help narrow the search. The county has five business days to respond under the law, with a possible ten-day extension. Copy costs typically range from $0.07 to $0.25 per page. Labor is billed in 15-minute increments for search and retrieval time.
MCL 15.243 lists exemptions. Medical and mental health records from the booking process are not public. Security-sensitive data and active investigation materials can be withheld. But the core booking facts like name, charges, date, and bond are almost always released. Mugshots are public records in Michigan, as confirmed by the court in Patterson v. Allegan County Sheriff.
Note: Clinton County borders the Lansing metro area, so some arrests may be processed in neighboring Ingham or Eaton County jails instead.
Clinton County Booking Record Laws
Public access to Clinton County jail records follows state law. MCL 15.231 through 15.246 make up Michigan's full FOIA framework. The law says all persons are entitled to full and complete information about government operations. Booking people into jail is a government function, and the records from that process are public.
Criminal records access is further governed by MCL 28.241 and MCL 28.243. These statutes set the rules for how law enforcement agencies share data with each other and with the public. The Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center collects reporting from all 83 counties, including Clinton. Court records are handled under MCL 600.880, which is a separate system from the jail booking process. MCL 750.491 covers records retention, which determines how long Clinton County must keep booking data.
The Statewide Records Management System, shown above, is how Michigan law enforcement agencies share data. The SRMS portal connects agencies across the state. Clean Slate legislation from April 2023 allows automatic expungement of certain old convictions after waiting periods, but this does not affect current booking records in Clinton County.
Clinton County's 220-bed jail is one of the larger facilities in the Lansing tri-county area. The Michigan Jail Overcrowding Emergency Powers Act gives sheriffs tools to manage population when a facility nears capacity. MCL 399.5 sets records management guidelines, and MCL 791.6607 governs visitation rules at the state level.
Cities in Clinton County
Clinton County includes St. Johns, DeWitt, Elsie, and several townships. The Lansing metro area extends partly into Clinton County. All local arrests are booked through the county jail on East Townsend Road.
Lansing sits partly in Clinton County along with Ingham and Eaton counties. Other Clinton County communities like DeWitt and Bath Township do not have their own pages.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Clinton County. The Lansing area spreads across several of them, so check nearby jails if you can not find a booking here.