Locate Thompson Correctional Center Inmates

Thompson Center Inmate Overview

Thompson Correctional Center is operated by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections through the Wisconsin Correctional Center System. The official facility page identifies Jon Petersen as superintendent in the research and describes Thompson as a minimum-security adult male correctional center. It sits in the eastern part of Dane County between Deerfield and Cambridge, making it local to Dane County but administratively separate from the Dane County Sheriff's Office jail system.

The center's role is not arrest intake. People held at Thompson Correctional Center are sentenced DOC inmates. That means a searcher should expect a DOC record, DOC visiting rules, and DOC mail and deposit policies. The Dane County current resident roster is still useful for a person who may be in local jail, but it is not the primary Thompson Correctional Center inmate search tool.

The official DOC Thompson Correctional Center page is the source for the facility address, capacity, history, programs, and contact information. This image shows the DOC facility page used for Thompson Correctional Center records.

The DOC source places Thompson Correctional Center in the state correctional-center system, so custody searches should begin with Wisconsin DOC.

Thompson Center Capacity

The official DOC facility page cited in the research lists Thompson Correctional Center with a capacity of 125 adult male inmates. That number is a DOC correctional-center capacity, not a Dane County jail bed count. It should be read alongside Oregon Correctional Center and Oakhill Correctional Institution as part of the sentenced state-prison population physically located in Dane County.

The research notes that Thompson sits on 22 acres bisected by State Farm Road. The site is much smaller than its early prison-farm footprint, but its work-release and community programs remain central to the facility's public identity.

Lookup Thompson Center Inmates

The Wisconsin DOC Persons in Our Care / Offender Locator is the proper search tool for Thompson Correctional Center. It is designed for people sentenced to state prison and housed in DOC facilities. DOC's general information warns that a person not found in the locator may be held in a city or county jail. For Dane County, that means a failed DOC search may require checking the sheriff's current resident roster or Wisconsin VINE.

1. Search the DOC locator by name or DOC number.
2. Use birth information or filters to narrow common-name results.
3. Open the matching record and confirm Thompson Correctional Center as the facility.
4. If the person is missing from DOC search, check local Dane County jail custody or VINE.

Thompson Center Contact

Contact Thompson Correctional Center for facility-specific procedures after checking the DOC locator. Staff cannot turn a public website search into a release order, and a phone call should not be used as the only identity check when the DOC record is available. For mail, visiting, or program rules, use the DOC public pages and the facility contact information together.

Visit Thompson Center Inmates

Thompson Correctional Center uses Wisconsin DOC visiting approval. The research points to DOC visiting information requiring a DOC-21AA Visitor Questionnaire, an approved visitor list, and special rules for minors. A Thompson visit is not booked through the Dane County jail's public visiting schedule. Use facility-specific DOC instructions for live days, times, identification rules, and any limits tied to the person's status.

Thompson Mail and Money

The DOC money, mail, and property page governs Thompson Correctional Center mail and deposits. The research states that Thompson has centralized mail and legal mail listed at 434 State Farm Road in Deerfield. DOC deposit systems include AccessCorrections and CashPayToday. These are not the same as Dane County jail commissary deposits through JailATM.

Thompson Center History

Thompson Correctional Center has one of the most specific histories in the Dane County facility research. The DOC page says the center is about 17 miles east of Madison, between Deerfield and Cambridge, and about three-quarters of a mile east of State Hwy 12/18. The name comes from the Forger Thompson farm dating to the 1840s.

The facility was established in 1942 as a prison farm on 1,100 acres leased to the Department of Welfare. In 1974, all but 22 acres were sold, and the center shifted away from farming toward work release. A newer building begun in 1993 expanded the population from 36 to 90, and a 16-bed independent living unit opened in 1995.

That history matters for records because Thompson is not a courthouse holding area or a county lockup. It is a DOC correctional center with a long work-release role. When a record shows Thompson Correctional Center, the searcher should treat it as a state placement and check DOC rules before sending mail, planning a visit, or relying on old jail booking details.

Thompson Center Programs

Thompson provides work release with local employers for qualified inmates. The program emphasizes maintaining employment after release, and earnings may help pay fees, restitution, and other obligations. As with other DOC correctional centers, work release depends on risk review, case status, and facility approval rather than a simple request.

The center's garden is a major local detail. The research says Thompson's garden produces more than seven tons of vegetables per growing season and donates hundreds of pounds of frozen vegetables to local food banks. The center also participates in fundraisers in the Cambridge and Deerfield communities. These details separate Thompson from a generic prison profile and show why the facility's records should be read in DOC context.

Program placement can also affect when a family member should call the facility. The DOC locator is the first identity check, but questions about approved work release, local employer assignments, garden programming, or facility participation in community projects are Thompson-specific and should be handled through DOC channels.