SearchSystems Editorial

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 30, 2026.

About this guide

Deer Lodge County, Montana, has about 9,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the County Attorney files charges, a case in the Deer Lodge County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.

This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.

Related guides: Deer Lodge County public records, Montana arrest records, Montana inmate search and Montana criminal records.

Who Makes Arrests in Deer Lodge County

The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Deer Lodge County. It reported 196 arrests for 2025.

How Many Arrests The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office Reports

Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.

  • Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office: 196 for 2025, 241 for 2024, 244 for 2023, 285 for 2022, 264 for 2021 and 277 for 2020.

The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office's 196 arrests in 2025 were down 19 percent from 241 in 2024.

Through August 2026, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office reported 120 arrests, against 123 in the same months of 2025.

Booking: Where People Arrested in Deer Lodge County Are Held

A person kept in custody after an arrest in Deer Lodge County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.

On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 7 people, down from about 20 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 32 beds, and it ran at 62 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.

A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Montana Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at offendersearch.mt.gov/conweb.

How to Find Out About an Arrest in Deer Lodge County

An arrest in Deer Lodge County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Deer Lodge County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.mt.gov/CourtLocator/3rdJudicialDistrict, phone (406) 563-4044); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at adlc.us/160/County-Attorney, phone 406-563-4019).

Montana is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the CHOPRS service lets anyone search public criminal history online by name, through the Montana Department of Justice. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.

Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Deer Lodge County

An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Montana Public Records Act the agency must answer in a timely manner; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of fulfilling the request.

  • An arrest by the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
  • A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 406-563-4019, handles discovery for pending cases.
  • The court file of a case that was filed: the Deer Lodge County District Court, through the court records page at courts.mt.gov, phone (406) 563-4044.
  • Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.

Cities in Deer Lodge County: Who Reports the Arrests

The FBI lists no city in Deer Lodge County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.

Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Deer Lodge County District Court.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many arrests are made in Deer Lodge County each year?

The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office reported 196 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.

Where are people arrested in Deer Lodge County booked?

Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.

Are arrest records public in Deer Lodge County?

The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Montana Department of Justice: the CHOPRS service lets anyone search public criminal history online by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Montana Public Records Act.

How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Deer Lodge County?

From the agency that made the arrest: the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Montana Public Records Act the answer is due in a timely manner; the statute sets no number of days.

Is this the official Deer Lodge 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.