West Carroll Parish Jail Overview
West Carroll Parish Jail is operated by the West Carroll Parish Sheriff's Office and is the only current local jail listed for the parish in the Louisiana DPS&C West Carroll Parish directory. Official state and sheriff sources place the jail at 305 East Main Street in Oak Grove. The same downtown courthouse area also ties together the sheriff's office, jail access, clerk records, and much of the court-record workflow after an arrest.
The active facility map should stay focused on this one jail. Older correctional-population sources and stale web results mention a former West Carroll Detention Center or Emerald facility in Epps, but current DPS&C parish-location material does not list it as an active West Carroll Parish local jail. Current custody questions should be routed to West Carroll Parish Jail, the sheriff's office, LAVNS, and the appropriate state or federal locator when custody has moved outside the parish jail.
The Louisiana DPS&C West Carroll Parish directory is the state source tying the jail, sheriff, district attorney, and clerk contacts together.
That directory supports the single-facility approach for West Carroll Parish Jail and helps separate current Oak Grove custody from older Epps detention-center references.
West Carroll Parish Jail Capacity
Current official capacity and daily population were not posted on the sheriff's jail page or the DPS&C parish directory located in the research. High-authority historical sources give only cautious context. The Prison Policy Initiative correctional-facility file lists West Carroll Parish Jail as a local facility with 24 in a dated correctional-population entry from 12/31/2013. A 2023 jail memo described the jail as built in 1964 with capacity for 26 inmates, but that memo was not the current sheriff or DPS&C roster page.
These numbers should be read as historical context, not as a current official rated capacity. The public LAVNS roster includes an offender-count display area, but the fetched view did not confirm a current count. For a current population question, call West Carroll Parish Jail or request the jail population record from the sheriff under Louisiana Public Records Law.
Search West Carroll Parish Jail Roster
The correct public lookup channel for current West Carroll Parish Jail custody is the West Carroll Parish LAVNS roster. It is an ASP.NET roster page for the West Carroll Parish Sheriff's Office, with a disclaimer, alphabetical filters, a last-updated timestamp, and a LAVNS custody-notification prompt. It is not a broad statewide prison search, and it is not a federal or ICE locator.
- Open the West Carroll Parish LAVNS roster and read the disclaimer before using the custody listing.
- Click "I agree" if the disclaimer appears, then browse with "Show All" or the person's last-name initial.
- Check the last-updated timestamp because new bookings, releases, and transfers may not appear at the exact moment they occur.
- Call West Carroll Parish Jail at (318) 428-2331 if the person is not listed, the name spelling is uncertain, or the arrest is recent.
- Use Louisiana VINE, the DPS&C phone locator, BOP, or ICE only when the person is no longer in local parish jail custody.
A missed roster result can mean several things. The person may have bonded out, been transferred, entered state custody, been held for another agency, or never been booked at West Carroll Parish Jail. The West Carroll Parish jail inmate records page gives the broader lookup chain for local, state, federal, and immigration custody.
West Carroll Parish Jail Contact
West Carroll Parish Jail and the sheriff's office are tied to the Oak Grove courthouse area. DPS&C lists the jail phone and fax, while the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association identifies the sheriff's office street address as the first floor of the courthouse building. The same phone number is the practical starting point for jail status, visitation scheduling, and routing a records question when the roster does not answer it.
West Carroll Parish Jail
305 East Main Street
Oak Grove, LA 71263
(318) 428-2331
Fax: (318) 428-8889
Mail: P.O. Box 744, Oak Grove, LA 71263
For public-records requests, address the request to the West Carroll Parish Sheriff's Office. Include the full name, date of birth if known, booking or arrest date, and the specific record needed. Broad requests are slower. A focused request for a booking record, booking summary, arrest report, or booking photograph is easier for the custodian to route.
Visit West Carroll Parish Jail
The official sheriff's inmate visitation page says West Carroll Parish Jail visitation must be scheduled through the Warden. The same page carries a restriction notice stating that visitation is restricted due to COVID-19 until further notice. No public schedule, visit length, dress code, remote-video vendor, attorney-visit rule, holiday policy, or child-visitor rule was posted in the fetched official page.
| Visitation Topic | Official Detail Located | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | Must be scheduled through the Warden. | Call (318) 428-2331 before traveling. |
| Address | 305 East Main Street, Oak Grove, LA 71263. | Confirm entrance and parking with the jail. |
| Restriction notice | Sheriff page says visitation is restricted due to COVID-19 until further notice. | Treat any fixed schedule as unconfirmed. |
| Visitor ID | Not posted in the fetched page. | Ask what identification is required. |
| Remote video | No vendor confirmed. | Do not send payment to an unverified vendor. |
The official West Carroll inmate visitation page is the source for the warden-scheduling instruction.
The screenshot reinforces why visitors should call first: the official page gives the location and scheduling route, but it does not publish a full visit calendar.
West Carroll Jail Mail and Money
No official West Carroll Parish Jail mail format, commissary vendor, phone provider, tablet program, video provider, deposit method, or fee table was found on the sheriff pages reviewed. That absence should not be filled with vendor guesses. Jail mail and money rules can change quickly, and sending funds or mail through the wrong channel can delay delivery or cause rejection.
| Service | Official Vendor or Fee Found? | West Carroll Parish Action |
|---|---|---|
| Inmate mail | No published format found. | Call the jail before mailing items or using the P.O. Box. |
| Money deposits | No vendor confirmed. | Verify accepted payment method with the jail. |
| Commissary | No fee schedule located. | Ask whether the person is eligible before sending funds. |
| Phone calls | No provider confirmed. | Ask the jail for current account setup instructions. |
| Video visits | No public vendor confirmed. | Use only a vendor named by the jail. |
For a person transferred to Louisiana DPS&C custody, West Carroll Parish Jail rules no longer control mail, money, or visitation. Use Louisiana VINE, the DPS&C phone locator, and the facility that actually houses the person.
West Carroll Jail Booking Process
Louisiana criminal procedure gives the clearest structure for booking at West Carroll Parish Jail. After an arrest, the officer must promptly take the person to the nearest jail or police station and cause the person to be booked. The booking entry includes the person's name and address, property taken, booking date and time, and a booking information summary with the legal name if known, charges, arresting person, short facts, and names of others arrested from the same facts.
After booking, the person may move through property inventory, intake, classification, housing assignment, LAVNS roster posting, first appearance, and bond review. If the arrest was without a warrant and the person remains in custody, Louisiana law requires a probable-cause determination within 48 hours. The law also requires the custodian to bring the person before a judge within 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, for appointment of counsel and possible bail review.
- Booking
- The formal jail entry after arrest.
- Classification
- The jail's assessment for housing and security needs.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency that can delay release.
- First appearance
- An early court appearance for counsel, rights, and possible bail review.
West Carroll Jail Custody Transfers
West Carroll Parish Jail is a local jail, but the custody path can move outside the parish. Louisiana VINE monitors adult parish jail and state prison custody status and allows notification registration. DPS&C also provides a phone locator at (225) 383-4580 for imprisoned-person information when the caller has the DPS&C number or the person's name and date of birth. That phone locator can provide housing assignment, facility address, contact number, and projected release date when available.
Federal and immigration custody use separate systems. The BOP locator covers federal inmates from 1982 to present. ICE ODLS is used for people in ICE custody or in CBP custody more than 48 hours, with search by A-number or biographical information. No BOP or ICE facility was found inside West Carroll Parish. If a roster result disappears after a federal hold or immigration detainer, the West Carroll Parish Jail phone line can confirm whether the person left local custody.
About West Carroll Parish Jail
The sheriff's official site publishes basic West Carroll Parish Jail navigation, including inmate visitation, tips, sex-offender search, pay fines, employment, and property tax payment. It does not publish a full jail manual, program catalog, grievance procedure, PREA page, medical request process, or accreditation statement in the fetched material. LSA identifies Randy Aaron as parish-wide warden and Scott Mathews as sheriff, while DPS&C lists a variant spelling of the sheriff's last name.
The local records path is compact because the jail, sheriff, clerk, and courthouse functions are concentrated around East Main Street in Oak Grove. After a West Carroll Parish Jail booking, the court-record side moves through the West Carroll Clerk of Court, Clerk Connect when available, the 5th Judicial District, and the district attorney's charging decision. Jail custody and court charges are related, but they are not the same record.
Note: Confirm custody, visitation scheduling, and mail rules with West Carroll Parish Jail before traveling or sending money.