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.
Tama County, Iowa, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Tama County is held at the county jail, run by the Tama 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: Tama County public records, Tama County arrest records, Tama County warrants, Tama County police reports, Tama County property records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Tama County
The county jail, run by the Tama County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Tama County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Tama County Sheriff's Office at tamacountysheriff.org/jail/inmates (page title: Inmates | Tama County Sheriff's Office, Iowa), phone 641-484-4111, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 641-484-4111.
The Tama County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 18 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 18 beds, and it ran at 100 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Tama County has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Tama County Jail
The Tama County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Tama, Toledo and Dysart make the arrests that end in a booking in Tama County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Tama County Sheriff's Office's 192 for 2025, Tama's 74 for 2020 and Toledo's 46 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies in Tama County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 195 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 Tama 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 Tama 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 Tama County?
Ask the Tama County Sheriff's Office at 641-484-4111; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at tamacountysheriff.org/jail/inmates.
How many people are in the Tama County jail?
About 18 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 18 beds.
What is the phone number for the Tama County jail?
641-484-4111, the number on the page of the Tama County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Tama 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 Tama 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.