Locate State Correctional Institution Mercer Inmates

SCI Mercer Overview

State Correctional Institution Mercer, often called SCI Mercer, is operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. The official DOC facility page gives the address as 801 Butler Pike, Mercer, PA 16137, phone 724-662-1837. DOC describes SCI Mercer as a minimum-security institution for males. It holds state-sentenced adult men under Pennsylvania DOC jurisdiction, not ordinary pretrial county detainees.

This type distinction matters for every lookup. The Mercer County Jail Report is for current county jail custody. SCI Mercer uses the Pennsylvania DOC inmate and parolee locator. A person arrested in Mercer County may start in the county jail and later transfer to DOC custody after sentencing, but the public search tool changes once the person enters the state prison system.

The official SCI Mercer facility page is the source for the state prison details shown in the manifest image below.

Use the DOC facility page for institutional details and the DOC locator for an individual inmate or parolee search.

SCI Mercer Population

SCI Mercer is much larger than the county jail population inside Mercer County. The Pennsylvania DOC May 31, 2026 monthly population report lists Mercer with an institution population of 1,318 and capacity of 1,476, which equals 89.3 percent of capacity. The same report lists one month prior at 1,324 and one year prior at 1,362, a one-year decrease of 44, or 3.2 percent.

The DOC report also lists a housing breakdown for Mercer. The physically present total was 1,308, with 1,207 in general population, 4 AC, 12 DC, 67 TC, and 18 in the infirmary or special-needs category shown in the table. These are state prison numbers. They should not be added to a county jail roster count unless the topic is the total incarcerated population physically located in Mercer County.

Lookup SCI Mercer Inmates

Use the Pennsylvania DOC Inmate and Parolee Locator for SCI Mercer. DOC says the locator is for state-sentenced inmates and parolees in Pennsylvania, is updated daily, and does not include private information. DOC also states that people incarcerated in a county facility or in another state cannot be found with this Pennsylvania locator.

1. Open the DOC inmate and parolee locator rather than the Mercer County Jail Report.
2. Search by last name or inmate number. First name can help when the surname is common.
3. Review the returned non-private custody information and current location.
4. Confirm whether the person is at SCI Mercer or another Pennsylvania DOC facility.
5. If no result appears, check spelling, try only the last name, disable pop-up blockers, or use a different device.

The direct Pennsylvania DOC locator portal is shown in the captured image below.

A DOC locator result is the correct state-prison custody source, while a recent booking at Mercer County Jail remains a county roster search.

SCI Mercer Locator Fields

The DOC locator needs less information than many court or jail searches. Last name or inmate number is enough to start. DOC cautions that some personal information may be self-reported and not independently verified, so identity should be checked against inmate number, name, and location when possible.

SCI Mercer Contact

Use the facility phone and DOC pages for prison-specific visit, mail, and contact rules. Do not call the Mercer County Jail to schedule a state prison visit or verify a DOC inmate's prison housing. County jail staff and DOC staff operate separate records systems.

SCI Mercer Visitation

SCI Mercer uses DOC-wide state prison visitation rules. Visitors should use the Pennsylvania DOC visitation process, not the Mercer County Jail's housing-unit schedule. State prison visits generally require approval and scheduling through DOC procedures, and the facility page links to the state "visit an inmate" guidance. Rules can change by custody status, institutional operations, and approved visitor list status.

Because the research did not locate a separate SCI Mercer day-by-day public schedule in the captured source set, the safest schedule table is procedural. Confirm the current visit day, time, approval status, and identification rules with DOC before travel.

SCI Mercer Mail Money

SCI Mercer uses DOC-wide mail and money processes. The official facility page gives the inmate mail address as Smart Communications/PADOC, Inmate Name/Inmate Number, Institution, PO Box 33028, St Petersburg, FL 33733. This is different from the Mercer County Jail mail-processing address and must include the DOC inmate name and number.

The Pennsylvania DOC pages for contacting an inmate, sending money, and commissary lists apply to SCI Mercer. The research does not give a Mercer-specific deposit fee schedule, so no fee amount should be invented. Use the state DOC money process and current DOC vendor instructions before sending funds.

SCI Mercer Facility Details

DOC describes SCI Mercer as a large campus with 37 acres inside the perimeter, 252 acres outside the perimeter, 39 operational structures, and 13 housing units with both cells and dormitory-style housing. The facility reports an average employee count of 485. Special features include a 24-bed tertiary medical unit, a shooting range, CERT building, training building, and an atrium covering the walkway into the facility.

The history is local and distinctive. The institution began as State Regional Correctional Facility Mercer on June 23, 1978, opened July 5, 1978 in Findley Township, and first received short-term male county offenders from 14 northwestern Pennsylvania counties. It later became SCI Mercer in 2008 and changed custody level on July 1, 2008 to level 2-3. DOC notes that an education building was originally a bowling alley and that the chapel was originally a Stuckey's Restaurant, with both moved and rebuilt on the grounds.

SCI Mercer Programs

SCI Mercer programs are state-prison programs, not county jail programs. DOC lists Pennsylvania Correctional Industries garment shop work, a Community Work Program for inmates with outside clearance, and a Reentry Service Office for inmates within 18 months of minimum or release date. Reentry topics include life skills, budgeting, digital literacy, resumes, job searches, and community connections.

Education and treatment options include GED, Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma, Adult Basic Education, automotive technology, barber school, building trades, carpentry, business education, custodial maintenance, OSHA, Pathways to Success, Money Smart, Transitional Village, Therapeutic Community, Veterans Service Unit, Victim Awareness, Back on Track, Interpersonal Violence, Impact on Crime, Co-Occurring and Outpatient Groups, Prison Canine Program, Seeking Safety, Sex Offender Programs, SUD, and Violence Prevention.