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.
Madison County, Iowa, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Madison County is held at the county jail, run by the Madison 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: Madison County public records, Madison County arrest records, Madison County warrants, Madison County criminal records, Madison County court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Madison County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Madison County is held at the county jail, run by the Madison County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Madison County Sheriff's Office at sheriffrandytucker.com/madison-county-detention-center (page title: Madison County Detention Center | Madison County Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Madison County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 11 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 14 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Madison County has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 6 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Madison County Jail
The Madison County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Winterset and Earlham make the arrests that end in a booking in Madison County.
The West Des Moines Police Department is listed by the FBI across four counties including Madison County, so its arrests are not broken out for Madison County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Winterset's 222 for 2020, the Madison County Sheriff's Office's 106 for 2025 and Earlham's 2 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Madison County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 108 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 Madison 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 Madison County?
Ask the Madison County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sheriffrandytucker.com.
How many people are in the Madison County jail?
About 11 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 14 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Madison 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 Madison 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.