How to Look Up Brevard County Jail Population Data
Brevard County jail population data lives on the Brevard County Sheriff's Office site, not in a stand-alone county dashboard. The main hub is the BCSO Jail Complex page, which states the rated bed count, the year the jail opened, the daily population range, and the units that sit inside the complex. The BCSO jail FAQs add bond, mail, and records-fee facts that help put the head count in context.
Brevard does not post a public daily jail dashboard. The Jail Complex page is a static fact sheet, with a rated capacity figure and a routine daily range, but no day-by-day chart or downloadable file. To get a current count, the route is a public records request to BCSO under Florida Statutes Chapter 119.
The Jail Complex listing is published online by the agency and is shown below.
That capture shows the same fact set: rated capacity, opening year, and the four tent housing structures on the site.
Brevard County Jail Capacity Overview
The Brevard County Jail Complex sits at 860 Camp Road in Cocoa. The Sheriff lists a rated capacity of 1,849 beds across the full site. The main jail opened in 1986 with beds for 386 inmates and has grown to its current bed count. BCSO reports the complex now routinely houses over 1,600 inmates daily. The agency is accredited through the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission.
The complex is not one building. It is a set of housing parts on one site, with a booking area, an infirmary, a kitchen, a laundry, courtrooms, visiting rooms, recreation yards, and office space. The table breaks the count out by part.
| Facility / Unit | Address | Rated Capacity | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard County Jail Complex (total site) | 860 Camp Road, Cocoa, FL 32927 | 1,849 beds; routinely over 1,600 daily; opened 1986 with 386 beds | (321) 690-1500 |
| Main jail maximum / medium security | 860 Camp Road, Cocoa | Part of the 1,849 total | (321) 690-1500 |
| Four tent housing structures | Jail Complex grounds | Part of the 1,849 total | (321) 690-1500 |
| Annex facility | Jail Complex grounds | Part of the 1,849 total | (321) 690-1500 |
| Mental health / medical unit | Inside Jail Complex | Separate unit; bed split not posted | Medical (321) 690-1547; Mental Health (321) 690-1559 |
Note: Per-unit bed splits are not posted on the public BCSO pages, so the table marks each row as part of the total 1,849.
Average Daily Population in Brevard County
BCSO does not publish a year-by-year average daily population (ADP) chart on its public pages. The Sheriff's figure is plain: the complex routinely houses over 1,600 inmates each day. With a rated capacity of 1,849 beds, that puts day-to-day use at about 86% or more.
The math is simple. Take the routine daily count, divide by the rated bed count, and multiply by 100. So 1,600 over 1,849 lands at roughly 86.5%. If the daily count climbs toward 1,700, use rises to about 92%. That leaves a thin cushion for booking spikes or transport waits.
A more granular ADP series has not been located in the public BCSO pages reviewed. Brevard's annual budget book and BCSO fiscal reports may carry that data. A direct Chapter 119 request to BCSO is the route to get a clean ADP run.
Demographic Breakdown - Brevard County
An official county-specific demographic breakdown of the Brevard jail population (race, gender, age cohort) was not located in the inspected BCSO pages. The Jail Complex page lists facility facts but no demographic chart. Booking pages on the inmate roster show race, gender, age, and other fields at the person level, but the agency does not roll those up into a public count.
For context only, the Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes annual jail data that breaks national jail population by sex, race, and conviction status. The Vera Institute also tracks local jail trends by county. Those are not Brevard-specific figures and should not be read as Brevard counts.
To get a Brevard-only breakdown, the path is a public records request to BCSO for aggregate counts by booking demographic fields. The Sheriff's jail FAQs outline the records check fees and process.
The FAQ capture above is the same agency page that handles bond, mail, and records request rules tied to the jail population.
Pretrial vs Sentenced Brevard County Jail Population
Florida county jails hold a mix of legal categories. The Brevard jail population most likely includes pretrial detainees, sentenced county inmates, probation violators, state holds waiting on FDC transport, federal holds, and people waiting on transport. The Sheriff has not posted an official percentage split by category in the inspected pages.
| Category | What It Means | Brevard Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pretrial detainees | People held in jail before trial, often on bond they could not post | Not posted by BCSO |
| Sentenced county inmates | People serving short county jail sentences after conviction | Not posted by BCSO |
| Probation violators | People held on a violation of probation warrant | Not posted by BCSO |
| State holds | People sentenced to state prison, waiting on FDC transport | Not posted by BCSO |
| Federal holds | People held for U.S. Marshals or ICE on federal matters | Not posted by BCSO |
The Florida split between county jail and state prison matters here. County jail in Brevard is for pretrial custody and short sentences. People sentenced to more than a year move to the Florida Department of Corrections. A Brevard arrest that ends in a long prison term will not show up in the daily jail count for long.
Misdemeanor vs Felony in the Brevard County Jail
Brevard County Court handles misdemeanors. The Circuit Court handles felonies. Both case types can sit in the same jail. A pretrial misdemeanor defendant who cannot post bond stays at the Brevard County Jail Complex. A pretrial felony defendant also stays at the same complex while the case moves through the Circuit Court.
The shift comes at sentence. A misdemeanor sentence in Florida is capped at one year and is served in the county jail. A felony sentence over a year goes to state prison. The jail population mix tilts toward pretrial felons and short-sentence misdemeanants. For court detail, see Brevard County Court and Circuit Court notes.
Official percentages by charge class are not posted by BCSO. The booking roster shows case-level charge data per inmate, but the agency does not roll those into a public summary.
Mental Health and Medical Population
The Brevard County Jail Complex has a separate mental health and medical unit on the same site as the main jail. The Sheriff lists two direct lines: a Medical Unit at (321) 690-1547 and a Mental Health Unit at (321) 690-1559. The bed count for the unit is not broken out from the 1,849 total in the public Jail Complex page.
That setup is common for a large Florida jail. People with acute medical needs or active mental health crises are housed apart from the general population for safety. The infirmary inside the complex also handles routine sick calls, intake screenings, and meds. For families who need to confirm a medical or mental health status, the route is the unit phone line. Roster pages do not flag medical or psychiatric status.
National and State Context
State prison data sits in a different system. The Florida Department of Corrections runs an offender search for people in state prison, on community supervision, on release, or listed as absconders. FDC population data is refreshed weekly; release dates and location changes update nightly. That is a separate dataset from the Brevard jail count.
For national benchmarks, the Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes a yearly jail report with rates per 100,000 residents at the U.S. and state level. Those are not Brevard figures, but they frame the local count.
| Level | Source | Jail Population per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Brevard County (county-specific) | BCSO Jail Complex page | Not posted as a per-100k rate |
| Florida (state) | BJS state-level jail reports | Not in the Brevard research; check BJS for the latest |
| United States (national) | BJS annual Jail Inmates report | Not in the Brevard research; check BJS for the latest |
Note: The Brevard research file does not list a per-100,000 rate; treat the state and national rows as a pointer to BJS data, not a Brevard number.
Population Trends Over Time
The long arc of the Brevard jail is one of growth. The main jail opened in 1986 with beds for 386 inmates. The complex today sits at a rated capacity of 1,849 beds, close to a five-fold rise over four decades. The daily population now sits at over 1,600.
Growth tracks county growth. Brevard County is one of Florida's larger coastal counties, with a population near 600,000 residents. As the resident base grew, the complex added the four tent housing structures, the annex, and the mental health and medical unit.
A formal five-year ADP trend report for the Brevard jail was not located in the official pages reviewed. BCSO fiscal reports and Brevard County budget documents are the most likely places to find a clean year-by-year run.
Searching for Brevard County Inmate Records by Name
Aggregate jail population data is the focus here. For a name-based lookup of someone in the Brevard jail right now, the route is the live roster on the Brevard County inmate records page, which links the BCSO Inmate Search portal and explains the booking fields. For people no longer in custody, see released inmates.
Where Brevard County Jail Population Data Comes From
The primary source is the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. The BCSO Jail Complex page lists capacity, opening year, routine daily population, accreditation, and a unit list. The BCSO jail FAQs set bond rules, mail rules, and the public records fee schedule that applies to jail data requests. The BCSO main site hosts the rest of the agency content.
The BCSO homepage capture is the front door to every jail data page used here. Budget-level data sits elsewhere: Brevard County's annual budget books and BCSO fiscal reports break out jail costs and may carry head-count series. Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission pages cover accreditation review.
For a count or category split not posted online, the formal route is a public records request under Florida public records law. Record check fees and copy fees are listed on the agency FAQ page. For court-side filings tied to bookings, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller is the custodian. Site FAQ and criminal records pages cover related questions.