Nantucket Inmate Population Lookup

Nantucket County is unique in Massachusetts because it does not operate a correctional facility. People arrested on Nantucket are transported to the Barnstable County House of Correction in Bourne on the mainland. Sheriff James A. Perelman runs the Nantucket County Sheriff's Office with just three full-time employees. The office focuses on prisoner transport, civil process, and court security rather than running a jail. About 200 prisoners per year are transported off-island, and the county pays roughly $200,000 annually for its contract with Barnstable County. This page explains how the Nantucket County inmate population is handled and where to find records about people arrested on the island.

Nantucket County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff James A. Perelman heads the Nantucket County Sheriff's Office. His email is perelman@islandsheriff.com. The main office is at 20 South Water Street, PO Box 419, Nantucket, MA 02554. The Civil Process Division is at 16 Broad Street, 2nd Floor, also using PO Box 419 for mail. Phone numbers are 508-228-7263 and 508-228-7264, with a fax of 508-325-5338. The general email is nantucket@islandsheriff.com. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

What makes this sheriff's office different from every other county in Massachusetts is that it does not run a jail. There are only three full-time staff members. The office handles civil process (serving court papers), court security, prisoner transport, and community programs. It does not have cells, housing units, or a corrections staff. When someone is arrested on Nantucket, police hold them briefly at the Nantucket Police Department before the sheriff's office arranges transport to Barnstable County.

The screenshot below shows the Nantucket County Sheriff's Office website.

The website provides contact information and details about the services the sheriff's office offers to the community.

How Nantucket Handles Its Inmate Population

When someone is arrested on Nantucket, the Nantucket Police Department handles the initial booking. The police station at 4 Fairgrounds Road serves as a temporary holding point. It is not a jail. People cannot be held there for more than a short period. The sheriff's office then arranges to transport the person off-island to the Barnstable County House of Correction in Bourne.

Transport from Nantucket to the mainland happens by boat or plane. The ferry is the usual method, but in urgent cases or bad weather, air transport may be used. Getting a prisoner from an island to a mainland jail adds time, cost, and complexity that mainland counties never have to deal with. The county transports roughly 200 prisoners per year this way. The number goes up in summer when the island's population swells with seasonal visitors and workers. The yearly contract with Barnstable County costs about $200,000.

Once at Barnstable County, the inmate falls under that facility's rules for housing, visiting, phone, and mail. If you want to find someone who was arrested on Nantucket, you should call the Barnstable County Correctional Facility at 508-563-4300. The Nantucket Sheriff's Office does not hold inmates and cannot give you current custody status for someone who has already been transported.

How to Search for Nantucket Inmates

Because Nantucket does not have a jail, there is no Nantucket County inmate roster. The county does not keep a list of who is in custody, since that is Barnstable County's job once the person arrives there. Here is how to track down someone arrested on the island.

Start by calling Barnstable County at 508-563-4300. This is the facility that holds all Nantucket inmates. Give them the person's full name and they can tell you if the person is there. You can also use Barnstable County's online inmate lookup tool on their website at bsheriff.net. Another option is VINELink, which may show results for people booked into Barnstable County regardless of where the arrest happened.

For court records, use MassCourts. Cases from Nantucket go through Nantucket District Court. The docket will show charges, hearing dates, and case outcomes. If someone was sentenced to more than two and a half years, they would be in a state prison. Check the DOC search tool on mass.gov for state-level inmates.

Nantucket Police Department

The Nantucket Police Department plays an important role in the inmate population process because it handles the initial arrest and booking. The department is at 4 Fairgrounds Road, Nantucket, MA 02554. The main phone is 508-228-1212.

For records requests from the police department, contact Deputy Chief Charles Gibson. He serves as the police department's Records Access Officer. Reach him Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Police records cover arrest reports, incident reports, and booking information from before the person was transported to Barnstable County. Under M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, you have the right to request these records.

The police department keeps records of arrests and bookings that happen on the island. These records are separate from the ones Barnstable County keeps once the person is in their custody. If you need the full picture, you may need to contact both agencies. The arrest report comes from Nantucket Police. The custody and housing records come from Barnstable County.

Public Records Requests

For municipal records, the Records Access Officer for the Town of Nantucket is Maureen Coleman. Her office is at 16 Broad Street, and she can be reached at 508-228-7200 extension 7341. The town also has an online public records request form at nantucket-ma.gov. This covers town government records but not sheriff or police records, which have their own RAOs.

M.G.L. c. 4, § 7 defines public records broadly. Most documents that government agencies create or receive count as public records unless a specific exemption applies. For inmate-related records from Nantucket, you might need to contact three separate offices depending on what you need: the sheriff for transport records, the police for arrest records, and Barnstable County for custody records.

The state public records portal has instructions for filing requests and appealing denials. Each agency has 10 business days to respond under state law.

Statewide Inmate Population Resources

The Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association represents all 14 county sheriffs. Nantucket is the only county that does not operate any type of correctional facility. Under M.G.L. c. 276, § 100A, each sheriff is responsible for jail operations in their county, but the statute does not require every county to have its own jail. Nantucket meets this obligation through its contract with Barnstable County.

For a broader search, try the DOC's online tool for state prisons, VINELink for county jails, and MassCourts for court records. If you know someone was arrested on Nantucket, start with Barnstable County at 508-563-4300. That one call will tell you whether the person is still in custody there.

Cities in Nantucket County

Nantucket County consists of the island of Nantucket and a few smaller uninhabited islands. The entire county is one town: Nantucket. It does not meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. All people arrested on Nantucket are transported to Barnstable County for detention.

Nearby Counties

Nantucket is an island county connected to other parts of Massachusetts by ferry and air. These are the closest counties for inmate population purposes.