The Lee County Inmate Population
The Lee County inmate population is reported through more than one public system because Lee County has both a regional jail and a state prison in Beattyville. Three Forks Regional Jail is the local and regional jail facility that serves Lee County jail custody. Its public roster covers current jail inmates, including people held before trial, county-status inmates, state Class D or controlled-intake inmates held in jail, parole violators, and other jail-status groups listed in Kentucky Department of Corrections jail reports. Lee Adjustment Center is separate. It is a Kentucky Department of Corrections adult institution operated by CoreCivic under contract and holds sentenced adult male state prisoners.
The count changes when arrests are booked, bond changes, court orders are entered, or sentenced inmates move from jail to DOC custody. A person arrested by the Lee County Sheriff, Beattyville Police, Kentucky State Police, or another agency may appear first in the Three Forks JailTracker roster. A person who has been sentenced to Kentucky DOC custody may appear in the Kentucky Online Offender Lookup, often called KOOL. Federal sentenced prisoners and immigration detainees use still different systems. That split is the key fact for Lee County custody searches.
Lee County Inmate Population Statistics
The best official current jail count located in the research is the Kentucky DOC Weekly Jail report dated 06/04/2026. It listed Three Forks (Lee) with 182 total jail beds and 260 reported inmates, so the jail was over its reported bed count on that weekly sheet. The best prison count located is the Kentucky DOC Daily Count Sheet dated 06/11/2026, which listed Lee Adjustment Center at 847 total inmates against 866 operational capacity.
| Measure | Figure | Source and Date |
|---|---|---|
| Three Forks total jail beds | 182 | Kentucky DOC Weekly Jail report, 06/04/2026 |
| Three Forks reported population | 260 | Kentucky DOC Weekly Jail report, 06/04/2026 |
| Three Forks capacity percentage | 143% | Kentucky DOC Weekly Jail report, 06/04/2026 |
| Lee Adjustment Center total population | 847 | Kentucky DOC Daily Count Sheet, 06/11/2026 |
| Lee Adjustment Center operational capacity | 866 | Kentucky DOC Daily Count Sheet, 06/11/2026 |
The Prison Policy Initiative Kentucky profile gives statewide context by reporting at least 89,000 local-jail bookings in Kentucky, but that figure is not Lee County-specific. Official Lee-only annual bookings, average daily population, age bands, race and ethnicity, and multi-year local jail rates were not found in the research file. Those gaps should not be filled with estimates.
Lee County Inmate Population Trends
The located sources provide a point-in-time trend picture rather than a full Lee County series. Three Forks was above its reported bed count on the weekly jail report dated 06/04/2026. Lee Adjustment Center was below operational capacity on the DOC daily count dated 06/11/2026. The DOC also states that a November 2017 agreement allowed Kentucky to house approximately 800 inmates at Lee Adjustment Center as part of a response to aging facilities and a growing state prison population.
| Date or Year | Facility | Population | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/04/2026 | Three Forks Regional Jail | 260 | 182 beds and 143% capacity in the weekly jail report. |
| 06/11/2026 | Lee Adjustment Center | 847 | 866 operational capacity in the daily prison count. |
| 2017 agreement | Lee Adjustment Center | Approximately 800 | DOC about page describes the contract housing agreement. |
These figures show why Lee County searches can be confusing. The regional jail count and the state prison count are both local to Beattyville, but they are not the same inmate population. A new arrest should be checked through Three Forks first. A sentenced Kentucky prisoner housed at Lee Adjustment Center should be checked through KY DOC tools.
Lee County Jail Custody Makeup
The weekly jail report breaks Three Forks into secure and non-secure custody categories. It does not publish a full Lee County demographic profile, but it does show the custody mix that affects the Lee County inmate population. On 06/04/2026, the jail report listed 171 secure male inmates, 35 secure female inmates, 46 non-secure male inmates, and 8 non-secure female inmates. It also listed 64 Class D inmates, 18 community-custody eligible inmates, 27 controlled-intake inmates, and 2 parole violators.
- Secure male custody included 171 people in the weekly jail count.
- Secure female custody included 35 people on the same report.
- Non-secure male custody included 46 people, with Class D and community-custody eligible groups noted.
- Non-secure female custody included 8 people.
- Federal inmates were listed as 0 at Three Forks on that report.
Lee County Jail Capacity
Three Forks Regional Jail was reported as 78 people over capacity on the Kentucky DOC weekly jail report dated 06/04/2026. The report showed 182 total beds and 260 reported inmates, with capacity listed at 143%. That is a jail-system measure, not a court finding and not a promise that the same count exists today. It does show that the local jail roster may include a mix of Lee County arrests, regional inmates, state-status jail inmates, and people held for nearby counties.
The Lee County inmate population also includes a much larger state-prison presence at Lee Adjustment Center. The DOC facility page describes Lee Adjustment Center as an 866-bed medium-security institution. The DOC daily count dated 06/11/2026 listed 839 in-count inmates, 8 in court status, and 847 total inmates. Because that population is state DOC custody, it does not belong in the Three Forks current jail roster even though the prison is in Lee County.
Laws for Lee County Inmate Records
Kentucky public-records law is the fallback when a roster is incomplete, a booking is too old for the public interface, or a requester needs a copy from the agency that maintains the record. The KRS 61.870 definitions section explains terms such as public record and official custodian. The KRS Chapter 61 Open Records index includes the general right to inspect public records and the exemptions that can limit release.
Key Kentucky Rules:
KRS 61.870 defines public-record and custodian terms used in jail and agency requests.
KRS Chapter 61 contains Kentucky Open Records provisions, including inspection rights and exemptions.
501 KAR 3:140 sets prisoner-rights procedures for full-service jails.
KRS 431.076 covers expungement after acquittal, dismissal, or no indictment or information in listed cases.
Kentucky law also limits some uses of booking photographs. The Open Records index lists KRS 61.8746 for commercial use of booking photographs or official inmate photographs. For practical Lee County record work, the request should go to the right custodian: the jail for jail booking records, the sheriff or police for arrest and incident reports, and the Circuit Court Clerk or Kentucky Court of Justice for court filings and schedules.
Lee County State Prison Population
Lee Adjustment Center makes Lee County unusual because it places a large Kentucky DOC institution in the same city as the regional jail. The DOC page describes the prison as a medium-security adult male institution with 866 beds. The DOC about page states that CoreCivic and the state entered an agreement in 2017 to house approximately 800 inmates there. That prison population is not a local arrest roster. It is the sentenced state-prison population housed in Lee County.
People transferred to DOC custody should be searched through Kentucky Online Offender Lookup, not through the Three Forks roster alone. Three Forks also links to KOOL from its own links page, which reinforces the split. VINELink can help users watch for custody changes or notifications, but KOOL is the statewide offender locator for sentenced Kentucky offenders.
Search Lee County Inmates
The Lee County inmate population search begins with the Three Forks JailTracker public roster for current jail custody. The jail's own current-inmates page routes into JailTracker, and the public roster is configured for current offenders only. The system does not require a filter before searching, so broad searches may return many records. A last name is the best first filter. Offender ID and Permanent ID are useful only when a jail staffer, court record, or older profile supplies the number.
The roster can show first, middle, and last name, gender, Offender ID, Permanent ID, intake date, status, VINE access, criminal offense tables, bond fields, court dates, arresting agency, and a mugshot when available. New bookings may not appear instantly, and the roster charge list may not match the charge filed later in court. If timing matters, call Three Forks Regional Jail and check the court docket as a second source.
- Open the Three Forks JailTracker public roster or the jail's current-inmates page.
- Search by last name first, then add first or middle name if the list is broad.
- Use Gender, Offender ID, Permanent ID, intake date range, or Agency when those details are known.
- Open the profile to review intake date, status, charges, bond fields, VINE link, and booking photo status.
- If the person has been sentenced or transferred, search KOOL and VINELink instead of relying only on the jail roster.
Lee County Roster Fields
The JailTracker search form gives more controls than a basic name box. Research on the public interface and agency metadata found optional name fields, gender filters, ID fields, intake-date range fields, and an agency selector. The public roster can export a PDF list and print profile detail. Because the portal is current-only, a released person may require an open-records request or another official source.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | No | Use with last name to narrow common results. |
| Last Name | Text | No | Best first search field for Lee County jail custody. |
| Middle Name | Text | No | Helpful when multiple people share a similar name. |
| Gender | Dropdown | No | Blank, F, or M. |
| Offender Id | Text | No | JailTracker agency offender number. |
| Permanent Id | Text | No | JailTracker permanent ID when known. |
| Intake Date Range | Date | No | Use from and to date fields for recent bookings. |
| Agency | Dropdown | No | All or THREE FORKS REGIONAL JAIL. |
The JailTracker public roster interface is shown in the capture below.
The screenshot matters because it shows the roster as a searchable public interface, not a static list or a sheriff daily PDF.
Past Lee County Inmate Records
Past Lee County inmate records require a different approach. The JailTracker metadata showed a released-retention setting, but the same configuration said the public interface is current offenders only. That means the public roster should not be treated as a complete released-inmate database. If a person is no longer shown, the next steps are to check court records, search KOOL for sentenced DOC custody, search VINELink for custody notifications, or make a written Kentucky Open Records request to the agency that holds the booking or arrest record.
For jail booking records, Three Forks is the most direct custodian to contact. For incident reports or arrest reports, the Lee County Sheriff or Beattyville Police may be the custodian. For filed charges, hearings, or case status, the Lee County Circuit Court Clerk and the Kentucky Court of Justice docket search are the better source. Each system answers a different question.
Lee County Inmate Record Contents
A Three Forks public profile can show the jail side of a custody record. The sample record inventory in the research found public fields for name, gender, status, intake date, offender IDs, VINE access, mugshot image status, offense rows, bond amount, bond type, court date, court type, arresting agency, booking date, age, race, height, weight, hair color, eye color, address city and state, and inmate classification. Sensitive identifiers such as Social Security number, driver's license number, state ID, and date of birth were not plainly public in the sample output.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Mugshot | Photo field when the profile has an enabled booking image. |
| Intake Date | The date the person entered the jail record. |
| Offender IDs | Agency and permanent JailTracker identifiers. |
| Offense Table | Charge descriptions, case numbers, court dates, bond fields, and arresting agency when present. |
| Additional Info | Demographic and classification details released through the public profile. |
| VINE Link | A custody-notification route tied to the Three Forks agency settings. |
Lee County Jail vs Prison
The most common search mistake in Lee County is using the jail roster for a state prison question, or using KOOL for a new arrest. Three Forks Regional Jail is the local and regional jail system. Lee Adjustment Center is a state prison. A person may pass through the jail after arrest, appear in court, then move to DOC custody after sentencing. Once that transfer occurs, the state locator is the better search tool.
| Question | Three Forks Regional Jail | Lee Adjustment Center / KY DOC |
|---|---|---|
| Who is held | Current jail inmates, pretrial detainees, county-status and some state-status jail inmates. | Sentenced adult male Kentucky DOC prisoners. |
| Lookup tool | JailTracker public roster. | KOOL statewide offender lookup. |
| Record type | Booking, intake, charges, bond, VINE, and mugshot if available. | DOC offender, current location, PID or DOC number, offense count, and custody details. |
| Best fallback | Call the jail or make a written records request. | Check KOOL, VINELink, or the DOC facility page. |
State and Federal Inmate Search
Sentenced Kentucky inmates are searched through KOOL. The state locator is separate from the Lee County jail roster and may show a current location, DOC or PID number, offense counts, gender, location type, offender type, aliases, photo-only filtering, and sorting options. Kentucky VINELink can be used for person search and notification when supported by the custody agency.
No federal BOP prison or ICE detention facility was found in Lee County. Federal sentenced prisoners are searched through the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. Immigration detainees are searched through the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. Federal and ICE systems do not operate like a county jail roster, and they generally do not provide public mugshot galleries.
Lee County Detention Facilities
Lee County has two custody facilities that can appear in inmate-population searches, but they serve different purposes. Three Forks Regional Jail is the primary jail roster facility for current local and regional jail custody. Lee Adjustment Center is a Kentucky DOC state prison for sentenced adult males. The same Beattyville setting does not make the records interchangeable.
- Three Forks Regional Jail holds Lee County and regional pretrial detainees, county inmates, Class D and controlled-intake jail-status inmates, parole violators, and other jail-status groups.
- Lee Adjustment Center holds sentenced adult male Kentucky DOC inmates and is searched through KOOL, not the county jail roster.
Lee County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Lee County inmate population?
The current official jail point found in the research is 260 reported inmates at Three Forks Regional Jail on the Kentucky DOC weekly jail report dated 06/04/2026. The state prison point is 847 total inmates at Lee Adjustment Center on the DOC daily count dated 06/11/2026.
How do I search Lee County jail inmates?
Use the Three Forks JailTracker public roster for current jail custody. Search by last name first, add first or middle name when needed, and open the profile for intake date, charge, bond, photo, and VINE information.
Why is Lee Adjustment Center not on the jail roster?
Lee Adjustment Center is a state prison under Kentucky DOC custody. It holds sentenced adult male inmates, so its records are searched through KOOL and VINELink rather than the Three Forks regional jail roster.
Can released Lee County inmates be searched online?
The public Three Forks interface is configured for current offenders only. For older booking details, check court records, KOOL if the person moved to DOC custody, or make a written open-records request to the agency that maintains the record.