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.
Ravalli County, Montana, has about 48,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office and three city agencies. 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 Ravalli 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: Ravalli County public records, Montana arrest records, Montana inmate search and Montana criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Ravalli County
The Ravalli County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Ravalli County. It reported 628 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Ravalli County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Hamilton, 5,383 residents: 175 arrests reported for 2025.
- Stevensville, 2,236 residents: 19 arrests reported for 2025.
- Darby, 873 residents: 21 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Ravalli County
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.
- Ravalli County Sheriff's Office: 628 for 2025, 694 for 2024, 829 for 2023, 675 for 2022, 553 for 2021 and 664 for 2020.
- Hamilton: 175 for 2025, 223 for 2024, 218 for 2023, 227 for 2022, 242 for 2021 and 204 for 2020.
- Darby: 21 for 2025 and 0 for 2023; 2024 is missing months.
- Stevensville: 19 for 2025, 10 for 2024, 21 for 2023, 4 for 2021, 18 for 2020 and 40 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 843 arrests that year. The three of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 822 in 2025 against 927 in 2024, down 11 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 419 arrests, against 480 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Ravalli County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Ravalli County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 54 people, up from about 53 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 83 beds, and it ran at 64 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office at ravallicounty.gov/245/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff Stephen Holton | Ravalli County, MT), phone (406) 363-3033, 205 Bedford Street, Suite G Hamilton, MT 59840, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Montana Department of Corrections lists its inmates at offendersearch.mt.gov/conweb.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Ravalli County
An arrest in Ravalli County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Ravalli County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at ravallicounty.gov/260/Clerk-of-District-Court, phone 406-375-6710); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at ravallicounty.gov/270/County-Attorney, phone 406-375-4060).
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 Ravalli 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 Ravalli County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (406) 363-3033.
- An arrest in Hamilton, Stevensville or Darby: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 406-375-4060, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Ravalli County District Court, through the court records page at ravallicounty.gov/260/Clerk-of-District-Court, phone 406-375-6710.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Ravalli County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the four cities in Ravalli County: Hamilton, Stevensville and Darby. Pinesdale has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Ravalli County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Ravalli County each year?
The Ravalli County Sheriff's Office reported 628 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 843 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Ravalli County?
Ask the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office at (406) 363-3033; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at ravallicounty.gov/245/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in Ravalli County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Ravalli 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 Ravalli County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Ravalli 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 Ravalli 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.