Reviewed and updated October 11, 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 October 11, 2026.
Lee County, Iowa, has about 32,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lee County is held at the county jail, run by the Lee 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: Lee County public records, Lee County arrest records, Lee County warrants, Lee County criminal records, Lee County court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lee County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lee County is held at the county jail, run by the Lee County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lee County Sheriff's Office at leecounty.iowa.gov/pview.aspx?id=20889&catid=25 (page title: Jail PREA Policy | Sheriff), phone 319-372-1152, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
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 319-372-1152.
The Lee County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 90 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 132 beds, and it ran at 68 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lee County has about 32,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 28 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lee County Jail
The Lee County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Fort Madison, Keokuk and Donnellson make the arrests that end in a booking in Lee County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Donnellson's 1,163 for 2025, Keokuk's 544 for 2025 and Fort Madison's 313 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Lee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,233 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 Lee County 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 Lee 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 Lee County?
Ask the Lee County Sheriff's Office at 319-372-1152; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at leecounty.iowa.gov.
How many people are in the Lee County jail?
About 90 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 132 beds.
What is the phone number for the Lee County jail?
319-372-1152, the number on the page of the Lee County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lee 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 Lee 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.