Barren County Detention Center Overview
Barren County Detention Center is at 201 Samson Street, Glasgow, KY 42141. The main phone number is 270-651-8806, and the research file lists fax 270-651-7717. The facility is operated by the Barren County Jailer and serves as the practical jail housing route for Monroe County after Monroe County's jail closure. Current local reporting says the jail houses Barren, Monroe, and Metcalfe county inmates, plus state inmates.
The official Barren County KY Jail web app describes a mission centered on public and institutional safety and programs intended to reduce reincarceration. Its navigation includes Current Inmates, Jailer, Staff, Inmate Programs, Inmate Rules, Inmate Phones, Inmate Mail, Inmate Funding, Visitation and Attorney Visitation, and Open Records Information. For Monroe County users, those routes replace the local-jail functions that would otherwise be handled in Tompkinsville.
The official jail home page is shown below.
The jail web app is the main online doorway for current inmates, rules, visitation, phones, funding, mail, and open records.
Barren County Detention Center Population
Population data for Barren County Detention Center is central to the Monroe County inmate population because the jail holds Monroe arrestees. Glasgow News 1/WCLU reported in February 2026 that the facility has 178 beds and held 631 Monroe County inmates during 2025. Kentucky DOC weekly jail reporting for May 23, 2024 listed Barren with 178 total jail beds and a reported population of 214, putting the jail 36 people over capacity at 120 percent of rated capacity.
The same KY DOC weekly row included 45 Class D inmates, 35 controlled-intake inmates, 4 parole violators, and 0 federal inmates. Local reporting in October 2025 said Jailer Aaron Shirley described a strong inspection result, with overcrowding as the exception. These figures explain why same-day confirmation matters before visiting, sending money, or relying on an online entry.
Lookup Barren County Detention Center Inmates
Use the Barren County Detention Center current-inmates route for current local jail custody. It is the correct first stop for people recently arrested in Monroe County and housed at the serving jail. Static research did not capture a full public profile or exact field labels from the JavaScript app, so do not assume every booking detail is visible online. When the person is not listed, the page fails to load, or release status is urgent, call the jail.
- Open the official current-inmates route from the jail web app.
- Use the search or list controls shown by the rendered page.
- Confirm the person is currently held at Barren County Detention Center.
- Call 270-651-8806 for missing records, bond questions, or same-day release information.
- Use KOOL, BOP, or ICE only when the custody type has moved beyond local jail housing.
Sentenced Kentucky prisoners should be searched through Kentucky Online Offender Lookup, not only the county jail route. Federal prisoners use the BOP inmate locator, and immigration detainees use the ICE locator.
Barren County Detention Center Contact
Call the jail before making a trip from Monroe County for visitation, bond payment, inmate money, or records questions. The research did not capture published visitor parking rates, public transit instructions, or detailed ADA entrance rules. The facility is in Glasgow, northwest of Tompkinsville, near Samson Street and T.J. Samson Community Hospital.
Barren County Detention Center
201 Samson Street
Glasgow, KY 42141
270-651-8806
Fax: 270-651-7717
Visit Barren County Detention Center
The jail has an official visitation and attorney visitation route. The static capture did not expose a detailed visit schedule, remote-video vendor, ID rules, dress code, child visitor rules, or lockdown-change procedure. Because Monroe County visitors may be traveling from outside Glasgow, confirm the appointment rules and active schedule directly with the jail before leaving.
| Visit item | Research status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Public visitation | Official route exists | Check the jail web app and call to confirm times. |
| Attorney visitation | Official route exists | Use the attorney visitation instructions from the jail. |
| Government ID | Specific rule not captured | Bring valid ID and confirm any extra requirements. |
| Remote or video visit | Vendor not captured | Ask the jail whether remote visits are available. |
The official visitation route is the source for the screenshot below.
Use the official route and phone confirmation because visit rules can change with housing, security, and jail status.
Mail Phone Money at Barren
Barren County Detention Center publishes official routes for inmate mail, inmate phones, inmate funding, and inmate rules. The research did not capture vendor names, exact fees, phone rates, deposit limits, or a full mail-address format. Use only the official jail app or details confirmed by staff.
| Service | Official route | Captured detail |
|---|---|---|
| Inmate Mail | Route exists; exact format not captured. | |
| Phone | Inmate Phones | Route exists; vendor and rates not captured. |
| Money | Inmate Funding | Route exists; fees and vendor not captured. |
| Rules | Inmate Rules | Route exists; detailed rule text not captured. |
Kentucky local jail mail regulation 501 KAR 3:140 allows incoming mail to be opened and inspected for contraband. Legal or official mail has stricter handling and may be opened only in the prisoner's presence before delivery or secure electronic copy.
Booking at Barren County Detention Center
A Monroe County arrest may be made by the sheriff, Tompkinsville Police, Kentucky State Police, or another agency. If the person is routed to Barren County Detention Center, booking can include identification, fingerprinting, booking photo, property inventory, medical and security screening, classification, bond or hold review, and housing assignment. Classification means the jail's risk and housing review. A detainer means another agency has placed a hold that may affect release.
The booking record should not be confused with the court record. Booking charges can change after the prosecutor files, amends, or dismisses charges in Monroe County court. The jail can answer custody and release questions. The Monroe Circuit Court Clerk can answer filed court-record questions. Kentucky DOC KOOL answers state-sentenced custody questions after transfer.
Barren County Detention Records
The jail web app includes an open-records information route. Use that route for jail records that are not visible through the public current-inmates page. For sheriff-created arrest reports, contact Monroe County Sheriff. For formal case documents, contact Monroe Circuit Court Clerk. For Kentucky DOC records, use the state DOC open-records process or KOOL when the question is custody location.
The official open-records route is shown below.
Open-records routing is the fallback when a public roster record lacks a booking detail, photo, or historical custody information.
About Barren County Detention Center
The official jail mission states that the facility works to protect public and institutional safety while providing programs intended to reduce the likelihood of reincarceration. Research found an Inmate Programs route and staff-role snippets referencing a programs director and a Class D captain, but specific GED, substance-abuse, work-release, religious, medical, mental-health, grievance, tablet, and reentry program details were not captured from static text.
Recent conditions reporting gives useful context without overstating the record. KY DOC weekly reporting showed overcrowding on May 23, 2024. WCLU/Glasgow News 1 reported in October 2025 that the jail had a strong inspection except for overcrowding. Glasgow News 1/WCLU reported in February 2026 that the facility recorded 2,933 imprisonments and 2,944 releases in 2025, including 631 Monroe County inmates.
Note: Confirm custody, visitation, bond, and mail rules with Barren County Detention Center before traveling from Monroe County.