Nantucket County Jail Roster

The Nantucket County jail roster is managed by the Nantucket County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff James C. Perelman, with the facility at 20 South Water Street in Nantucket. There is no online inmate search for Nantucket County. All custody inquiries are handled by phone. The county covers a single island 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, and its small local facility means that many more serious cases are transferred to Barnstable County or state facilities. This page covers how to check the local roster, what to do when someone may have been moved off-island, and how to request written records.

Nantucket County Sheriff's Office

The Nantucket County Sheriff's Office is at 20 South Water Street, Nantucket, MA 02554. Sheriff James C. Perelman leads the department. The main phone number is (508) 228-7263. The office can be reached by fax at (508) 228-7266. General town inquiries can also go through the town's main line at (508) 228-7200. The Nantucket County Sheriff page on the town website is at nantucket-ma.gov/473/Sheriff and provides basic contact information and department details.

Nantucket is the smallest county in Massachusetts and one of the smallest in the country by population. The year-round population is roughly 14,000 people, but the island draws hundreds of thousands of visitors during summer. That seasonal surge has a direct effect on the jail roster. Summer bookings are significantly higher than in winter months. Many of those summer arrests involve tourists or seasonal workers who may have no prior connection to the island.

The local facility is small. It is sized for the year-round population, not the summer peak. When capacity is strained or when a case requires resources not available on the island, inmates are transferred to Barnstable County on the mainland. Some may eventually move to state custody for longer sentences. Understanding this transfer pattern is essential to searching for someone effectively in the Nantucket County system.

The Massachusetts DOC website provides a broader view of how the state's corrections system handles county-level custody and transfers for cases like those originating in Nantucket. County jails like Nantucket handle the initial custody phase, but longer-term or higher-need cases move up the system.

Nantucket County Jail Roster Phone Inquiry

To check the Nantucket County jail roster, call (508) 228-7263. Ask staff for inmate information. Give them the full name and date of birth of the person you are looking for. If you know the approximate booking date, share that too. The small size of the facility means staff can often pull up a record quickly, but having specific details ready cuts down on the time needed.

During the call, staff can confirm whether the person is currently in local custody, what charges are on file, what bail amount has been set, and when their next court date is. Housing location within the Nantucket facility is also available. This is the main way to access Nantucket County jail roster data. There is no online tool, no automated phone lookup, and no other public access point.

If staff cannot find a record for the person you are asking about, ask directly whether a transfer has occurred. Given the island's limited facility capacity, transfers to Barnstable County are not unusual. If a transfer happened, the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office at (508) 563-4300 would be the next call to make.

Note: Hours at the Nantucket facility may be more limited than at larger mainland jails, so calling during standard business hours gives you the best chance of reaching a live staff member for an inmate inquiry.

Off-Island Transfers from Nantucket County

Nantucket's geographic isolation is the defining factor in how the jail roster works here. The facility on South Water Street handles initial bookings and short-term detainees. But when capacity is reached, when a case involves serious charges, or when an inmate requires services the local facility cannot provide, a transfer off-island is arranged. Barnstable County is the most common destination. State prison facilities operated by the Massachusetts DOC are the destination for longer-term sentences.

Once someone is transferred off-island, they no longer appear in the Nantucket County jail roster. Calling the local sheriff will not surface a record for them. You need to contact the receiving county or use the DOC database depending on where they were sent. For Barnstable County transfers, call (508) 563-4300. For state prison, use the Massachusetts DOC Inmate Search.

The distinction between county and state custody matters in Massachusetts. County jails hold pretrial detainees and those serving up to two and a half years. State prisons, operated by the DOC, hold anyone serving longer terms. Nantucket County feeds into this same tiered system, just with the added variable of island logistics. A person arrested on Nantucket may end up in a Barnstable County jail, a DOC prison, or back on the island depending on the specifics of their case.

Records Request for Nantucket County Jail Roster

To request written records from the Nantucket County Sheriff's Office, you can submit by mail, phone, or in person. By mail, send your request to Nantucket County Sheriff's Office, 20 South Water Street, Nantucket, MA 02554. Include the full name of the subject, any relevant dates, and a description of the specific records you are requesting. Your contact information for a response is also needed.

By phone, call (508) 228-7263 and ask for the records department. In-person requests can be made at the facility during business hours. For a small facility like this, an in-person or phone request is often the most direct route. Staff can help clarify what records are available and which may require additional processing time.

Under M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, the office must respond to a public records request within ten business days. Jail roster data, booking records, and custody logs are generally treated as public records in Massachusetts. Some records may be withheld under specific exemptions, and the office must cite those exemptions if a request is denied in whole or in part.

Public Records Rights and Nantucket County

Massachusetts public records law applies to Nantucket County the same way it applies to every county in the state. M.G.L. c. 66, § 10 gives any person the right to inspect or copy records held by a government agency. You do not need to provide a reason for your request. The sheriff's office cannot require an explanation as a condition of honoring a standard public records request.

If a request is denied, the office must identify which specific exemption it relies on. You can then appeal to the Secretary of State's office through the Massachusetts Public Records Portal. The portal explains the appeals process and provides the forms needed to file a complaint. Most routine jail roster inquiries do not reach this point, but the right to appeal is available.

County correctional facilities in Massachusetts operate under M.G.L. c. 126. This statute sets out how county jails maintain records, what inmate rights apply, and what public access standards are required. Nantucket County follows the same framework as every other county jail in the state, regardless of its small size or island location. The public records rights available to someone requesting records from Middlesex County are the same rights available for a Nantucket County request.

The Massachusetts public records portal also provides context for navigating records requests when a case has moved from the island to a mainland facility. Each agency holding records is subject to its own response obligations, so you may need to file separate requests with multiple agencies if a case moved through several facilities.

VINELink and Victim Notifications

Nantucket County does not participate in the VINELink victim notification network. VINE is available through Essex County and the Massachusetts DOC, but most county jails in the state, including Nantucket, are not connected. If you need to track someone in local Nantucket custody, calling (508) 228-7263 is the only direct method. There is no automated alert system at the county level.

If a person is transferred to a state facility, VINELink becomes available. The Massachusetts DOC connects to VINE, so registration for automatic custody alerts is possible once someone enters state custody. You can register at vinelink.com or by calling 1-800-468-2846. The service is free and sends alerts whenever custody status changes. This matters especially for Nantucket cases that escalate into state-level custody.

Court records for cases originating in Nantucket County are searchable through MassCourts. Case dockets, hearing schedules, and case status can be found there. If you need to follow a case after someone has been released from local custody or transferred to the mainland, MassCourts is where you check on the legal proceedings.

Cities in Nantucket County

Nantucket County consists entirely of Nantucket Island and is a single county-town. The town of Nantucket does not meet the qualifying population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. For inmate lookups, call the Nantucket County Sheriff's Office directly at (508) 228-7263.

Nearby Counties

Nantucket is an island county with no land borders. The nearest county by sea is Barnstable, which is also the most common destination for Nantucket County inmate transfers. Use the link below to access Barnstable County jail roster information.