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 30, 2026.
Waterloo, Iowa, in Black Hawk County, has about 67,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Waterloo is held at the county jail, run by the Black Hawk 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: Waterloo public records, Black Hawk County inmate search, Waterloo arrest records, Waterloo warrants, Waterloo criminal records, Waterloo court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Waterloo
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Waterloo is held at the county jail, run by the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office at bhcso.org/whos-in-jail (page title: Who's In Jail | Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Black Hawk County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 260 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 272 beds, and it ran at 95 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Black Hawk County has about 132,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 19 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Black Hawk County Jail
The Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Waterloo (filed by the FBI as Waterloo Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Waterloo.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Black Hawk County: the University of Northern Iowa (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Waterloo's 2,985 for 2025, Cedar Falls's 616 for 2025 and the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office's 463 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Black Hawk County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,328 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 Waterloo arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Iowa Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Waterloo?
Look on the custody page of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office at bhcso.org/whos-in-jail. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Black Hawk County jail?
About 260 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 272 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Black Hawk 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 Waterloo 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.