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 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Oskaloosa, Iowa, in Mahaska County, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Oskaloosa is held at the county jail, run by the Mahaska 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: Oskaloosa public records, Mahaska County inmate search, Oskaloosa arrest records, Oskaloosa warrants, Oskaloosa criminal records, Oskaloosa court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Oskaloosa
The county jail, run by the Mahaska County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Oskaloosa, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Mahaska County Sheriff's Office at mahaskacountyia.gov/sheriff/jail (page title: Jail | Mahaska County, Iowa), phone 800-896-3201, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 800-896-3201.
The Mahaska County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 28 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 41 beds, and it ran at 68 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Mahaska County has about 22,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 13 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Mahaska County Jail
The Mahaska County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Oskaloosa (filed by the FBI as Oskaloosa Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Oskaloosa.
The Pella Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Mahaska County, so its arrests are not broken out for Mahaska County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Oskaloosa's 345 for 2025, the Mahaska County Sheriff's Office's 92 for 2025 and New Sharon's 0 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Mahaska County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 437 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 Oskaloosa arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Mahaska County serves the sentence in a facility of the Iowa Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Oskaloosa?
Ask the Mahaska County Sheriff's Office at 800-896-3201; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mahaskacountyia.gov/sheriff/jail.
How many people are in the Mahaska County jail?
About 28 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 41 beds.
What is the phone number for the Mahaska County jail?
800-896-3201, the number on the page of the Mahaska County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Mahaska County go?
To a facility of the Iowa Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Is this the official Oskaloosa website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.