Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Chaffee County, Colorado, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Chaffee County is held at the county jail, run by the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Chaffee County public records, Chaffee County arrest records, Chaffee County warrants, Chaffee County criminal records, Chaffee County court records, Colorado arrest records and Colorado inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Chaffee County
The county jail, run by the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Chaffee County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office at chaffeecounty.org/departments/sheriff/jail/index.php (page title: Welcome to Chaffee County, CO), phone 719-539-2596, MON 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 2, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 719-539-2596.
The Chaffee County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 42 people, down from about 69 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 105 beds, and it ran at 40 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Chaffee County has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 20 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Chaffee County Jail
The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Salida and Buena Vista make the arrests that end in a booking in Chaffee County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Salida's 242 for 2025, the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office's 214 for 2025 and Buena Vista's 76 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Chaffee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 532 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Chaffee County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Colorado Department of Corrections lists its inmates at cdoc.colorado.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Chaffee County?
Ask the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office at 719-539-2596; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at chaffeecounty.org.
How many people are in the Chaffee County jail?
About 42 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 105 beds.
What is the phone number for the Chaffee County jail?
719-539-2596, the number on the page of the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Chaffee County go?
To a facility of the Colorado Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at cdoc.colorado.gov.
Is this the official Chaffee County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.