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 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Dowagiac, Michigan, in Cass County, has about 5,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dowagiac is held at the county jail, run by the Cass 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: Dowagiac public records, Cass County inmate search, Dowagiac arrest records, Dowagiac warrants, Dowagiac criminal records, Dowagiac court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Dowagiac
The county jail, run by the Cass County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Dowagiac, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Cass County Sheriff's Office at casscountymi.org/1520/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Cass County, MI), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Cass County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 120 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 116 beds, and it ran at 108 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cass County has about 52,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 24 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cass County Jail
The Cass County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Dowagiac (filed by the FBI as Dowagiac Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Dowagiac.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Cass County: the Cass County State Police (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Cass County Sheriff's Office's 267 for 2025, Dowagiac's 160 for 2025 and Ontwa Township-Edwardsburg's 40 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Cass County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 496 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 Dowagiac 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 Cass County serves the sentence in a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Dowagiac?
Ask the Cass County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at casscountymi.org/1520/Sheriffs-Office.
How many people are in the Cass County jail?
About 120 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 116 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cass County go?
To a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Is this the official Dowagiac website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.