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.
Hancock County, Iowa, has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hancock County is held at the county jail, run by the Hancock 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: Hancock County public records, Hancock County arrest records, Hancock County warrants, Hancock County criminal records, Hancock County court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Hancock County
The county jail, run by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Hancock County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Hancock County Sheriff's Office at hancockcountyia.gov/sheriff/jail_division (page title: Jail Division | Sheriff's Office | Hancock County, Iowa), phone 641-923-2621, 855 State St. Garner, IA 50438, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 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 641-923-2621.
The Hancock County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2017 the jail held about 7 people. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Hancock County has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 7 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Hancock County Jail
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office makes the arrests that end in a booking in Hancock County.
The Forest City Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Hancock County, so its arrests are not broken out for Hancock County here.
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office reported 103 arrests to the FBI for 2025. 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 Hancock 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 Hancock County?
Ask the Hancock County Sheriff's Office at 641-923-2621; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hancockcountyia.gov/sheriff/jail_division.
How many people are in the Hancock County jail?
About 7 on an average day in 2017, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
What is the phone number for the Hancock County jail?
641-923-2621, the number on the page of the Hancock County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Hancock 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 Hancock 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.