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 on September 24, 2026.
Dawson County, Montana, has about 8,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dawson County is held at the county jail, run by the Dawson 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: Dawson County public records, Dawson County arrest records, Dawson County warrants, Dawson County criminal records, Dawson County court records, Montana arrest records and Montana inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Dawson County
The county jail, run by the Dawson County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Dawson County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Dawson County Sheriff's Office at dawsonmt.gov/departments/sheriff/index.php (page title: Welcome to Dawson County, MT), phone (406) 377-5291, 440 Colorado Boulevard Glendive, MT 59330, 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 (406) 377-5291.
The Dawson County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 20 people, down from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 22 beds, and it ran at 92 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Dawson County has about 8,700 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 23 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Dawson County Jail
The Dawson County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Glendive make the arrests that end in a booking in Dawson County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Glendive's 92 for 2025 and the Dawson County Sheriff's Office's 39 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Dawson County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 131 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 Dawson 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 Dawson County serves the sentence in a facility of the Montana Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at offendersearch.mt.gov/conweb.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Dawson County?
Ask the Dawson County Sheriff's Office at (406) 377-5291; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at dawsonmt.gov/departments/sheriff/index.php.
How many people are in the Dawson County jail?
About 20 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 22 beds.
What is the phone number for the Dawson County jail?
(406) 377-5291, the number on the page of the Dawson County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Dawson County go?
To a facility of the Montana Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at offendersearch.mt.gov/conweb.
Is this the official Dawson 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.