Big Sandy Jail Roster Overview
Big Sandy Regional Detention Center is the regional jail used for Martin County arrestees and other local jail custody from Johnson, Lawrence, and Magoffin counties. The Kentucky Association of Counties identifies Big Sandy Regional Detention Center as the regional jail authority for those four counties, with the building located in Johnson County. That detail matters because a search for a Martin County jail can send users toward a county office in Inez, while the actual jail custody record is maintained through the regional jail in Paintsville.
The facility is a county and regional adult detention center, not a state prison and not a federal prison. It holds pretrial detainees, people serving local jail sentences, and people in the regional booking and court process. A person arrested in Martin County may appear on the Big Sandy jail roster before a court case is fully built in Kentucky court records. Once a person moves to Kentucky Department of Corrections custody, the main lookup changes to KOOL. If the person is a sentenced federal inmate, the correct search tool is the BOP Inmate Locator, not Big Sandy JailTracker.
Note: Martin County jail custody is regional, so do not assume a missing Inez jail page means no current custody record exists.
Big Sandy Inmate Population
The official Big Sandy Regional Detention Center pages inspected for Martin County research did not publish a rated bed capacity. The clearest sourced local count is the Prison Policy Initiative correctional population locator using Census 2020 vintage data, which listed Big Sandy Regional Detention Center as a local facility with 215 people. That figure is a population count, not an official capacity, and it does not split out Martin County from the other counties in the regional jail authority.
Recent local reporting also gave nonofficial context for the jail count, with an average daily population of 241 in November 2025 and a count of 225 on December 18, 2025. Those numbers should be treated as news context, not a government capacity report. For a live custody question, the roster and the jail phone line are stronger than a dated population figure because jail counts change with arrests, releases, transfers, bond decisions, and court orders.
| Measure | Figure | How to Read It |
|---|---|---|
| Rated capacity | Not located in official sources | Do not use an unsourced bed count for Big Sandy Regional Detention Center. |
| 2020 vintage population | 215 | Prison Policy Initiative local facility count, not a Martin-only count. |
| Recent reported ADP | 241 in November 2025 | Local news context, not an official jail dashboard. |
| Recent reported count | 225 on December 18, 2025 | Local news context, useful only as a dated snapshot. |
Find Big Sandy Jail Inmates
The official roster path starts with the Big Sandy inmate search frame, which routes users into the JailTracker public roster for Big Sandy Reg Det Center, KY. Start there instead of a commercial Martin County roster page. The older official frame is important because research found that a newer public roster shell could reject the same facility code even though the official frame still points users toward the working JailTracker channel.
The roster is best for current regional jail custody. It can also help with released records when the Include Released option is enabled. If the person was just arrested and does not appear, call the facility because the booking process, identification work, or app refresh may not be complete. If the person was sentenced to Kentucky prison, use the Kentucky Online Offender Lookup. If the person is federal, use the BOP Inmate Locator.
- Open the official Big Sandy inmate search frame and let JailTracker load.
- Search by last name first, then add first or middle name if the result list is too broad.
- Use Include Released only when the person may have bonded out, transferred, or finished a local sentence.
- Open the matching record and compare name, book date, release date, charges, bond, court fields, and agency details.
- Call Big Sandy Regional Detention Center if the app fails, a recent arrest is missing, or a court deadline is close.
| Roster Field | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Grid Search | Search visible roster values | Useful when only part of a name or record value is known. |
| Include Released | Shows released records when available | Use for recent bond, release, or transfer checks. |
| Last, First, Middle Name | Identifies the person | The grid default sort was captured as last name ascending. |
| Book Date | Shows original booking time | Compare with court dockets and arrest context. |
| Release Date | Shows final release time when published | May be blank for current detainees. |
| Agency, ArrestNo, Jacket | Optional grid details | Visibility depends on facility settings. |
The official Big Sandy inmate search page shows the roster path before sending users into JailTracker.
The frame is useful because it confirms the roster is the regional jail's own path, not a third-party substitute for custody confirmation.
Big Sandy Address and Contact
Use the jail contact for custody, roster, visitation, message, and commissary questions. Use Martin County Sheriff's Office for arresting-agency questions, warrants, and local law enforcement records. Use the Martin County Circuit Court Clerk for court-file and docket questions. The regional jail structure means one custody event can involve offices in Paintsville and Inez, so routing the question to the record holder saves time.
Big Sandy Regional Detention Center
904 3rd Street
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-297-5245
Public office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; closed weekends and designated holidays.
Martin County Sheriff's Office
42 East Main Street
Inez, KY 41224
606-298-2828
Contact for local arresting-agency and sheriff records questions.
Big Sandy Visitation Schedule
Big Sandy Regional Detention Center publishes video visitation as a weekly service from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The inspected page did not publish a full scheduling rule set, vendor workflow, dress code, visitor ID list, or a split between remote and on-site video sessions. Families should confirm whether a visit is remote, whether an account must be set up first, and whether the inmate's housing or discipline status limits the visit.
| Day | Hours | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. | Video visitation |
| Tuesday | 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. | Video visitation |
| Wednesday | 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. | Video visitation |
| Thursday | 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. | Video visitation |
| Friday | 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. | Video visitation |
| Saturday | 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. | Video visitation |
| Sunday | 9:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. | Video visitation |
The Big Sandy visitation page is the source for the weekly video visitation window.
The published window is broad, but a visit should still be checked against inmate status and any account setup rules before travel or login.
Big Sandy Mail and Money
The Big Sandy site links inmate phones to CIDNET and commissary deposits to TouchPay. The TouchPay detail has a local condition that should not be missed: anyone who wants to fund an inmate account through TouchPay must email administrator@bsrdc.com with the inmate name, cardholder name, gender, relationship, and address unless the sender has already been added to the inmate's contact list. That setup step makes the Big Sandy commissary process different from a plain online deposit instruction.
The official pages inspected did not publish a complete mail rule page, a deposit fee schedule, or a property-release rule. Messages to inmates are not treated as a routine free message service. The FAQ says messages must be approved by the administrator or supervisor on duty and are approved only on a need-to-know basis. For bond, commissary, phone accounts, and messages, the safer path is to verify the current rule with the facility before sending funds or expecting a message to be relayed.
| Service | Provider or Detail | Local Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | CIDNET | Use the facility's inmate phone link and confirm account rules. |
| Commissary | TouchPay | Email administrator@bsrdc.com for contact-list setup unless already listed. |
| Messages | Administrator or supervisor approval | Approved only on a need-to-know basis. |
| Home incarceration | 606-789-4041 | Number published in the Big Sandy FAQ. |
The Big Sandy commissary page documents the TouchPay setup step and the administrator email process.
That source is especially important because the contact-list requirement can affect whether a deposit attempt works.
Big Sandy Booking Records
A Martin County arrest generally moves from arresting agency to transport, intake at Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, roster entry, bond or pretrial review, and then court scheduling. JailTracker can show booking and charge data before the formal court case catches up. A roster charge is not always the final charge. Prosecutors can amend, reduce, dismiss, or add charges after first review, and the Kentucky Court of Justice docket is the better place to confirm hearing dates after the case opens.
JailTracker detail scripts support charges and housing tabs when the facility exposes them publicly. Charge data can include case number, charge status, code, description, warrant number, crime type, counts, bond type and amount, court type and time, offense date, arrest date, and arresting agency. Housing data may exist in the system, but public visibility depends on facility settings. For deeper background about what the roster can show, the Martin County jail inmate records page explains the roster fields and fallback channels.
- Booking
- The jail intake step after arrest, when a custody record is created or updated.
- Detainer
- A hold from another agency that may block release even if local bond is posted.
- Classification
- The jail's housing and custody-level review after intake.
- PR bond
- A personal recognizance release order based on a promise to appear in court.
Big Sandy Jail Programs
Big Sandy Regional Detention Center advertises several inmate programs: GED, Work Release, Church Meetings, Moral Reconation Therapy, Portal, and National Career Readiness Certificate. The program page does not publish eligibility rules, class schedules, or whether each program is open to pretrial detainees, sentenced inmates, or both. Families should treat the program list as confirmation that the facility offers those categories, then ask staff what the current eligibility and schedule look like for a specific inmate.
The Big Sandy programs page shows the program categories published by the facility.
The published list supports a more specific custody picture than generic jail copy because it names education, work, faith, cognitive, and readiness programs.
Big Sandy Records Caveats
Research found one official legal and reform source that is relevant to Big Sandy Regional Detention Center. On December 4, 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky announced an agreement with Big Sandy Regional Jail Authority to ensure access to medications for opioid use disorder under the ADA. That source should be read as a specific medication-access agreement, not as a full description of every medical service, grievance step, or jail condition at the facility.
Kentucky jail standards also matter, but the inspected Big Sandy pages did not publish a full medical request procedure, property checklist, grievance policy, or mail rulebook. For records access, start with the jail if the record is a custody or booking record. For Martin County sheriff incident reports, contact the sheriff. For court records after arrest, use Kentucky court channels. For sentenced state inmates, KOOL is the state path. For sentenced federal inmates at USP Big Sandy, BOP is the correct system.