Fourth Avenue Jail Inmate Search

Fourth Avenue Jail Overview

Fourth Avenue Jail is operated by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office at 201 South 4th Avenue in Phoenix. MCSO describes it as the county's most secure jail facility, with male maximum general population, medium general population, closed custody, and maximum or medium sentenced working male inmates.

The official facility facts list about 2,064 beds, 1,152 cells, and 288 cells designated for the highest-security inmates. The jail was built in 2005 and covers 577,883 square feet. Its location near downtown court operations also makes it the facility associated with the Bond & Fine room on the northwest corner.

Fourth Avenue Jail Capacity and Population

MCSO publishes Fourth Avenue Jail capacity and cell figures, but research did not locate a current facility-only daily population count. Countywide adult jail ADP was 7,582 in FY 2024, a systemwide figure that includes all MCSO jail buildings rather than Fourth Avenue alone.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Fourth Avenue Jail

Use the official MCSO Inmate Information search for Fourth Avenue Jail custody. The MCSO search is a direct lookup, not a browse-all jail roster. It is the correct system for Maricopa County pretrial and short-sentence jail custody, while state prisoners, federal inmates, and ICE detainees require separate locators.

1. Search by booking number if known. MCSO requires one letter followed by six numbers.
2. If the booking number is unknown, search by first name, last name, and DOB in YYYYMMDD format.
3. Check the result for current MCSO custody and facility assignment before going to Fourth Avenue Jail.
4. If no result appears, call SIMS at 602-876-0322 or check the MCSO mugshot page, court records, ADCRR, BOP, ICE ODLS, and VINELink as appropriate.

Fourth Avenue Jail Address and Contact

Use Fourth Avenue Jail contact information for downtown custody, bond and fine payment routing, and confirmed facility questions. Bond payments should be checked through SIMS before payment because holds can prevent release even after bond is paid.

Visiting Someone at Fourth Avenue Jail

For social visits, MCSO uses ViaPath/GettingOut remote video visitation. The inspected MCSO visitation page states onsite video visits are currently suspended. Attorney and professional visits are handled differently and may require going to an MCSO visitation center with State Bar card and government ID so the visit is properly treated as professional communication.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Fourth Avenue Jail

MCSO routes general incoming mail through the central mailroom at Lower Buckeye Jail, even when the inmate is housed at Fourth Avenue. Standard postcard rules apply to non-legal mail. Inmates cannot receive incoming calls, and ordinary outgoing calls are recorded and monitored.

Verify current rules through MCSO's Information for Families, Visitation, and Inmate Account pages before mailing, visiting, or depositing funds.

Booking and Intake at Fourth Avenue Jail

Central intake moved from Fourth Avenue Jail to the Intake, Transfer and Release Facility in 2020. A person arrested in Maricopa County is usually booked through ITR first, then may be housed at Fourth Avenue after classification, court needs, bond logistics, or security assessment. MCSO releases are processed through ITR, not through Fourth Avenue Jail.

Fourth Avenue still matters during the first days of a case because it sits near downtown court operations and houses the Bond & Fine room. That does not make it the only place to search for a current inmate. The MCSO Inmate Information page is systemwide for county jail custody, so the search should start there even when a family member believes the person is downtown. Facility assignment can change after court, after classification, or after a security decision.

Bond information should be checked before anyone travels or pays. MCSO says SIMS can be called when the booking number is unknown, and the caller should provide full name and date of birth. The Superior Court bond information warns that criminal bonds are not requested by phone, text, email, social media, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, wire transfer, or similar payment routes. A real Fourth Avenue bond payment route is in person through MCSO, and other agency holds can still block release.

About Fourth Avenue Jail

Fourth Avenue Jail includes a Special Management Unit, basement-level inmate programs, chaplain and legal services, medical clinic services, dental, X-ray, pharmacy, psychiatric offices, classrooms, video visitation booths, attorney rooms, dayrooms, and recreation yards. Its Bond & Fine room makes it a frequent destination for families handling release payments in downtown Phoenix.

MCSO identifies Fourth Avenue as a high-security county jail with about 2,064 beds, 1,152 cells, and a set of cells designated for the highest-security inmates. The population described in the facility research is male maximum general population, medium general population, closed custody, and maximum or medium sentenced working male inmates. That mix is different from Estrella's female population, Lower Buckeye's medical and mental-health units, and Watkins or Towers general-population housing.

Records tied to Fourth Avenue should be read with the court file. The jail search can help confirm custody, but formal felony charges usually appear through Maricopa County Superior Court after the prosecutor files a direct complaint or obtains an indictment. Booking charges, amended charges, dismissed charges, bond conditions, and convictions are different record types. When a court record and a jail record seem to conflict, the originating office should be checked before treating either page as the final legal status.

Mail and family-contact rules also remain systemwide. A Fourth Avenue housing assignment does not change the Lower Buckeye central mailroom format for ordinary incoming mail, the GTL outgoing-call rules, or the ViaPath remote video route for non-legal visits. Attorney communication has separate protections and verification steps through State Bar information and MCSO professional-visit procedures.

Confirm professional access before arrival.

Use SIMS for custody timing.