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 on September 24, 2026.
Dallas County, Iowa, has about 115,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dallas County is held at the county jail, run by the Dallas 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: Dallas County public records, Dallas County arrest records, Dallas County warrants, Dallas County criminal records, Dallas County court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Dallas County
The county jail, run by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Dallas County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Dallas County Sheriff's Office at inmates.dallascountyiowa.gov/NewWorld.InmateInquiry/dallas (page title: Inmate Search), 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 Dallas County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 46 people, up from about 33 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 36 beds, and it ran at 92 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Dallas County has about 115,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 4 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Dallas County Jail
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Waukee, Perry, Adel, Van Meter, Woodward and De Soto make the arrests that end in a booking in Dallas County.
The Urbandale Police Department, the Clive Police Department and the West Des Moines Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Dallas County, so their arrests are not broken out for Dallas County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Waukee's 559 for 2025, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office's 280 for 2025 and Perry's 252 for 2024.
Together, the six agencies in Dallas County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 953 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 Dallas 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 Iowa Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Dallas County?
Look on the custody page of the Dallas County Sheriff's Office at inmates.dallascountyiowa.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Dallas County jail?
About 46 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 36 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Dallas 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 Dallas 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.